As with all my blogs, what follows is my meandering thoughts and commentary on the topics and trials of daily life as I see them, based on my life experiences, and my perspectives.
I usually try to approach the issues I discuss with an open mind and heart, and I try to view them from all angles and perspectives.
For this blog I want to focus on the thorny issue of hacking, because the sad fact is my Facebook account has been hacked.
Apparently it occurred about three weeks ago, but Facebook has only just (very reluctantly) admitted this is why I’ve had restriction issues over that period of time.
The fact of hacking is a terrible stain on the society of today.
I was brought up to respect others and their property, so I would never steal, damage or destroy anything of another’s and I don’t understand those who do.
To my mind, it’s more insidious than the equivalent physical crimes because it takes place in secret and the victim may not know immediately there’s a threat or crime being committed.
Sadly, hacking is part of the fabric of today’s world, and those of us who are honest are often left to pay the price for the hacking damage.
The fact of being hacked is almost a hazard of ordinary living, so the point of this blog is not to discuss how to keep safe or what is the best defence against hacking.
I want to discuss the response from the business community because hacking is becoming a common occurrence.
The banks have habitually been in the forefront of hacking issues and they have broadly risen to the challenge buttressing their own hacking defences and offering help and advice to their customers, especially those who are most vulnerable.
It’s taken a while, and perhaps could have been quicker, and perhaps they’ve had to work to catch up, but most banks these days have fairly robust systems and procedures to tackle cyber crime.
However, there are a second tier of targets for hackers and cyber criminals; commercial companies and social media platforms.
Whether modern business owners want to acknowledge it or not cyber crime is growing both in volume/ value and in complexity and if businesses don’t keep abreast of the threat, customers will eventually take their business elsewhere and they will go bust.
Social media platforms face the same challenges, but because hackers are not trying to steal money from users of the platform, there seems to be far less emphasis on security or tactics to combat cyber crime and prevent hackers getting access to personal information.
I have three social media accounts – Twitter (which is very new), Instagram (also relatively new) and Facebook.
On Facebook, I have an author page, a group I manage and I belong to a lot of writing groups because (obviously) I write books and I want to publish and promote them.
So, today Facebook finally admitted my account has been hacked.
Not a word about how to fix it, no offer of help or support. I didn’t get an apology or a reason for how it happened.
There was no standard statement of what to do or of what procedure to follow.
Absolutely nothing!
I have already spent all day trying to find a way to fix, repair and restore my account, and it’s still not resolved.
I’m completely unimpressed with Facebook and the response to this increasingly common problem.
I’m currently so frustrated and anxious about the situation, I feel like completely deleting all my Facebook account and connections, if I could only develop my own social media platform to connect with my friends from all the different aspects of my life.
Unfortunately, right now I don’t have the resources or knowledge to do it, but I’m most definitely willing!
I have to wonder, with the increasingly rapid growth in technology and access to technological innovation and expertise, whether the capability for individuals to create their own social media platforms may be on the horizon, so for the likes of Facebook, I say – watch this space!!!
BP
4th July 2023