Twitter hacks drive social media managers to action
Burger King and Jeep both endured hackers’ taking over their Twitter accounts this week. Other big brands don’t want to be next in line. Oh, and faking it is a baaaaaaad idea.
It isn’t clear just who carried out Twitter account hacks this week that replaced Burger King’s logo with McDonald’s arches and supplanted a Cadillac crest for Jeep’s logo—the group Anonymous has claimed responsibility, and some outlets have traced the hacks back to a New England DJ.
Regardless of the culprits, big brands certainly want to be sure they’re not the next victims of an attack.
“We genuinely empathize with the brands that suffered attacks on Twitter this week,” says Scott Monty, Ford Motor Co.’s global head of social media. “It’s the last thing that any company wants to have happen.”
What are those brands doing to prevent a hack? Some are staying tight-lipped in the name of not giving anything away to potential attackers.
“What went down certainly makes us re-examine our security, and I’ll leave it at that,” says Brooks Thomas, communications specialist at Southwest Airlines.
However, a few brand social media managers, along with PR pros who handle social media for clients, offered some of their strategies.
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