Today being a successful social media influencer is probably the coolest thing. The generational appeal of influencers simply cannot be denied. The quick money and cult following that have become synonymous with this new age profession is finding resonance especially with generation Z people.
But this enticing success can sometimes elicit a heavy price, especially with hackers and cybercriminals preying on successful influencers.
We are here talking about a disturbing trend called ‘influencer leaks.’ The agonizing increase in influencer leaks in recent years has revealed the dark side and the price one pays for being a successful influencer.
What are influencer leaks?
Influencer leaks refer to malicious incidents where private and sensitive information belonging to social media influencers is accessed in an unauthorized and unlawful manner. These leaks not only intrude on personal privacy but also raises the pertinent issues about online safety and security of influencers.
Influencer leaks are, in a way, a form of cybercrime that is specifically targeted against influencers.
For those who are still not aware, influencers are basically people who have mass following on popular social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms, and they often exert a great amount of influence over their audience.
Coming back to the main topic, the sensitive information leaked through influencer leaks can be mainly classified into the following types:
Personal and private information: This could include either intimate information, like romantic life, dating information, health issues, or any other personal details that cannot be shared in thee public domain without proper consent.
Financial details: Information about the influencer’s card details or any critical financial information that can cause serious monetary loss for the influencers.
Business details: This could include information about secretive and confidential clauses in influencers’ contracts with various brands.
Leaks causing reputation damage: Publicly revealing any kind of controversial or offensive behavior, which could potentially cause irrecoverable harm to the influencer’s credibility and reputation.
Precautionary and risk mitigation measures
To counter the risk and the negative consequences related to influencer leaks, several proactive measures can be employed:
Use a strong password and enable two-factor authentication:
With ever-increasing threat of hacking and cyberattacks, the importance of using strong passwords cannot be overstated. Today using simple or lame passwords like ‘your name’ or ‘date of birth’ can prove suicidal for your career and personal life alike.
Influencers must, therefore, always use complex or unique passwords for all their social media accounts and other accounts. A strong password usually includes a combination of numbers, special characters, uppercase letters and lowercase letters.
Here is an example of a strong password: G6@*zkw1$L%5tr.
Simultaneously, they must preferably enable two-factor authentication for all their social media accounts. Adding a second form of verification, which often includes a code sent to your registered mobile number or email id, adds an extra layer of security.
To cut it short, a strong password is your ultimate weapon to protect against hackers and cybercriminals.
Be cautious with third-party apps and platforms:
Very often many influencers grant access to their social media accounts to third-party apps and platforms. They mainly do this for gaining a competitive edge, improving their performance, or securing better brand deals. However, influencers should thoroughly check the market credibility of these apps and platforms before granting any access.
It is equally important to review their privacy policy, which tells about whether or not they share the details of your social media accounts with other third-party companies and exactly what details they share.
Lastly, don’t forget to inquire about or verify the cybersecurity measures deployed by these third-party companies. Remember once the access is granted to the social media accounts, the responsibility of securing your social media data falls with these companies.
Restrict access to sensitive information:
We all know that today the digital world is infiltrated with a large number of cybercriminals who continuously hunt for personal information. Therefore, it is always wise to never share any personal information including home address, mobile number, or financial details on social media accounts or public platforms.
Be vigilant against phishing attack:
Over the years, there has been a sporadic increase in phishing attack. What’s a phishing attack? Phishing attack is a sophisticated form of cyberattack where attackers gain access to your personal information by employing dubious tactics.
These dubious tactics could mostly include impersonating as trusted entities like banks or government agencies for gaining your trust or installing a malware link in your mail – the link will take you to a landing page and ask you to fill your personal information. Influencers should always exercise extreme vigilance while sharing personal information when encountered with such situations.
Other Preventive Measures:
- Use password manager: Using password managers like Google Password Manager not only helps in efficiently managing your passwords but also helps in automatically generating strong passwords.
- Keep monitoring your accounts: Influencers should regularly monitor all their social media accounts for detecting any malicious activities like unauthorized login attempts or surprising posts. If they do across any suspicious activities then it is recommended that they must immediately change the passwords.
- Keep changing your passwords regularly: Using same password for lifetime can be little risky. Rather changing passwords regularly (at least once in every six months) can help in giving a very strong shield against hackers. However, make sure to use only strong and unique passwords as has been recommended above.
Recent examples of Influencer leaks:
- Popular Pakistani influencer Kanwal Aftab’s intimate videos and images allegedly featuring her in compromising position recently got leaked. Kanwal Aftab has over 4 million followers on Instagram.
- In 2019, a popular Mumbai based influencer marketing agency Chtrbox’s data got leaked on Amazon’s AWS platform. The leak exposed the data of nearly 49 million Instagram users including high-profile influencers. The leaked data contained critical information including contact information as well as how much the company paid to influencers for posting ads.
Consequences of Influencer Leaks
Reputational impact:
Unauthorized public disclosure of sensitive information regarding personal or professional life of influencers can cause irrevocable damage to their credibility. This in-turn can potentially strain their relationship with brands and followers alike, causing a double whammy for influencers.
Financial damage:
Exposure or hacking of critical financial data, like credit card or bank details, can cause grave monetary loss for influencers. The financial damage can be equally severe if any confidential clauses (non-disclosure agreement) or terms and conditions included in the influencer’s contract gets leaked in the public domain.
The revelation of confidential clauses can also result in legal complication for the influencers, attracting lawsuit for the breach of contract.
Mental stress & damage to mental health:
Since influencer leaks bring lot of public shaming, it can easily take a heavy toll on influencer’s mental health. They can lose their self-worth and go through a prolong period of depression.
Conclusion:
With more and more influencers gaining celebrity status, influencer leaks will continue to remain a pressing challenge for the influencer industry. But the solution to this critical challenge and problem is well within the reach.
By implementing all the preventive measures as discussed above, influencers can keep hackers and cyber criminals at bay and safeguard their lives and their career against any potential negative fallouts.
Ultimately, they have to maintain a certain degree of vigilance. As they say that sometimes eternal vigilance is the price that one pays for being young and famous.