Vindictive, Evil, and Knows How to Use the Internet

The greatest long-term security threats to most businesses come from people who are vindictive, evil and know how to use the internet.

These people can destroy your business reputation with a few keystrokes, generating negative search engine rankings and online reviews.  They can alter business records and your own personal identity.

These people often feel “wronged” and are on a mission of redemption. 

Ask any lawyer…the crimes against business today that do the most damage occur online, most often to the reputation of the business in question.

Last week at one of the country’s leading conferences and expos about online selling, I moderated a panel conversation about how to protect your business reputation in the internet era.  The session was titled, “Reputation Management on the Wild, Wild Web” and the assembled panel of experts shared tale after tale of businesses large and small that had their reputations trashed in this internet era.

Here’s what the experts agreed is the best course of action you can take to manage your business reputation on the web:

Be a good corporate citizen – treat others as you wish to be treated and most often you’ll avoid problems.

Avoid litigation – litigation creates lots of documents that are part of the public record and this information can and often will become results in search engine rankings about your company and key search terms relevant to your business.

Protect your passwords and personal information – only release your personal information to secure sources with clear policies concerning how they will use your information.

Change your passwords – it’s recommended that you change personal passwords at least once a quarter and use password combinations of capital and lower case letters with numbers for maximum protection.

Monitor the conversations – use tools like Google Alerts to track what’s being said about you and your company.