Business is built on networks. Sure, most modern businesses rely on Cisco to power their digital networks, but businesses cannot succeed without the types of networks the pre-date Cisco, Microsoft and even Bulletproof! Those networks are your networks of contacts, friends, business associates and family. Building and maintaining those networks can be challenging, especially when we get wrapped up in the social media hype of 'I have more friends than you', but understanding both the importance and correct size of those (hopefully) vibrant social networks is as critical to the success of our businesses as is having a reliable and robust computer network.

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Over the past 2 weeks I have had the incredible privilege to enjoy the company of a number of local business owners who are, in my opinion, experts in their fields. The purpose of our weekly lunchtime meet-ups is to discuss social media, its implications on businesses, and how to harness the opportunities that this new media offers.

One of the curiousities of our meetings is the perception of experts. Each one of us is an expert in our own right, and yet we rarely perceive ourselves as such. The facilitator of our meetings, Rob Paterson, often says that it is those who proclaim themselves infallible experts are the very experts that we should avoid. With that hanging over our heads we muddle along, discussing ways to connect with our customers, expand the reach of our individual businesses, and discover how to be more engaged in the communities that support us. Ever the consummate observer, I have realized that in spite of our reluctance to proclaim ourselves experts, our collective knowledge, experience, and connectedness (more on that in a later post) makes the collective 'us' an expert. Confused? Let me explain.

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Bulletproof is currently doing a a big push to embrace social media and allow our customers to get more intimately involved with our company through direct interaction.

As a security guy, social media is scary. So, why would I choose to join the social media team and push this forward? The first reason is simple, the move to social media is going to happen to all of us,  regardless. The second reason is because I think we're doing all of the right things to use the technology responsibly.

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Social media is all the buzz these days. Along with the increased popularity of these services comes the increased cries from security professionals to "watch what you post". Most people focus on the issues of privacy and reputation when they think about social media. Those are certainly important considerations but just as important are the security risks. That's what this post is going to focus on.

This is not a new problem. As long as I have been doing penetration testing, social engineering and blind vulnerability assessments (around 9 years) I have used similar technologies to my advantage.  Newsgroups have long been a great resource for gaining knowledge of a customers systems.

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