Loss of control of social media channels

The results of an account compromise can be devastating. If one of your social media accounts are compromised, follow these steps.

Take action: Regain control of the compromised account

• Report the suspected compromise to the social media provider. Most providers have mechanisms (web links or contact numbers) to report compromised accounts.
• Follow on-screen instructions in the “forgot my account” or “account recovery” page to begin the recovery process.
• Update your password to something new, strong, and unique. Better yet, use a passphrase.
• Verify the email address and mobile number associated with the social media account.
• Log in to any email account associated with the social media account and change the password to something strong and unique.

Assess and contain any damage

• Delete any information posted by the threat actor once you regain control.
• Change the compromised password immediately if you used it for other accounts, as the threat actor may use it to access those accounts.
• Use the auditing services that your social media accounts provide, which outline information such as recent activity and devices used to log in to the account.
• Review privacy and security settings to see if they were changed.
• Verify which applications and devices are currently connected to your social media account.
• Review any personal information stored in the affected account as it may be compromised.

Protect

• Treat strange or unsolicited personal messages, emails, and texts with suspicion, particularly if they contain a link, attachment, or request account information such as your password.
• Enable account access notifications.
• Use unique passwords or passphrases for all social media accounts.
• Use multi-factor authentication (MFA), if available.
• Review your privacy settings.
• Use only a trusted device to access your online accounts. Untrusted devices such as hotel business stations may be infected with malware designed to capture sensitive information.
• Use hardware-based tokens to store sensitive information like passwords. You may also use tokens in the authentication process for some social media platform providers.
• Close old or unused social media or email accounts as threat actors can use these accounts to gather information, target contacts or impersonate you.