Tips on Leveraging Social Media

Managing Risks of social media to the organization

Here are tips on leveraging social media while managing risk to the organization:

• Create a framework—Research how individuals are using social media and use this information as input to define a corporate social media strategy, policy and training program.
• Develop the strategy—Align the strategy with corporate objectives and obtain senior management approval. This should include outlining key channels, type of engagement, risks, communication and ongoing monitoring.
• Minimize the risk—Identify controls to minimize unnecessary risk to the organization (i.e., brand, reputation, consumer confidence).
• Training and awareness—Incorporate social media and security within the corporate security awareness and training program. Educate users on industry best practices for securely using these types of online environments.
• Ongoing monitoring—Monitor ongoing exploits occurring in the social media environment. Provide a vehicle to determine and communicate ongoing risks and appropriate risk mitigation strategies.

For more guidance on social media, download a complimentary copy of ISACA’s social media white paper, Social Media: Business Benefits and Security, Governance and Assurance Perspectives.