Social Media Security: Leveraging Social Networking While Mitigating Risk

Social networks, particularly public ones, have become part of the fabric of how we communicate and collaborate as a society. With value from micro-level personal networking to macro-level outreach, social networking has become pervasive in people’s lives and is now becoming a significant driving force in business. These new platforms have provided new approaches to many critical enterprise functions, including identifying, communicating, and gathering feedback with customers (e.g., Facebook, Ning); locating expertise (e.g., LinkedIn); providing new communication platforms (e.g., Twitter); and collaborating with a community, small or large (e.g., wikis).

However, many organizations have stayed away from potential benefits of social networks because of the significant risks associated with them. This book will help an organization understand the risks present in social networks and provide a framework covering policy, training and technology to address those concerns and mitigate the risks presented to leverage social media in their organization. The book also acknowledges that many organizations have already exposed themselves to more risk than they think from social networking and offers strategies for "dialing it back" to retake control.

• Defines an organization's goals for social networking
• Presents the risks present in social networking and how to mitigate them
• Explains how to maintain continuous social networking security

Michael Cross is a SharePoint Administrator and Developer, and has worked in the areas of software development, Web design, hardware installation/repairs, database administration, graphic design, and network administration. Working for law enforcement, he is part of an Information Technology team that provides support to over 1,000 civilian and uniformed users. His theory is that when the users carry guns, you tend to be more motivated in solving their problems.

Michael has a diverse background in technology. He was the first computer forensic analyst for a local police service, and performed digital forensic examinations on computers involved in criminal investigations. Over five years, he recovered and examined evidence involved in a wide range of crimes, inclusive to homicides, fraud, and possession of child pornography. In addition to this, he successfully tracked numerous individuals electronically, as in cases involving threatening e-mail. He has consulted and assisted in numerous cases dealing with computer-related/Internet crimes and served as an expert witness on computers for criminal trials. In 2007, he was awarded a Police Commendation for work he did in developing a system to track local high-risk offenders and sexual offenders.

With extensive experience in Web design and Internet-related technologies, Michael has created and maintained numerous Web sites and implementations of Microsoft SharePoint. This has included public Web sites, private ones on corporate intranets, and solutions that integrate them. In doing so, he has incorporated and promoted social networking features, created software to publish press releases online, and developed a wide variety of solutions that make it easier to get work done.

Michael has been a freelance writer and technical editor on over four dozen I.T. related books, as well as writing material for other genres. He previously taught as an instructor and has written courseware for IT training courses. He has also made presentations on Internet safety, SharePoint and other topics related to computers and the Internet. Despite his experience as a speaker, he still finds his wife won't listen to him.

Over the years, Michael has acquired a number of certifications from Microsoft, Novell and Comptia, including MCSE, MCP+I, CNA, Network+. When he isn’t writing or otherwise attached to a computer, he spends as much time as possible with the joys of his life: his lovely wife, Jennifer; darling daughter Sara; adorable daughter Emily; and charming son Jason.

For the latest information on him, his projects, and a variety of other topics, you can follow him on Twitter @mybinarydreams, visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mybinarydreams, follow him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/mcross1, or read his blog at http://mybinarydreams.wordpress.com.