"Janis Joplin is live now"

How often does social media grab your attention when you least expect it? One second you’re refilling your coffee after finishing that bill of materials, so you check in on Facebook and … Who’s that standing next to that wind turbine? And, oh, it’s my boss’ birthday. I’d better post a birthday message.

It’s so easy to be drawn into the allure of social media. No matter where you are. And no matter when it is.

Imagine my surprise the other day, when I received a notification from Facebook that “Janis Joplin is live now.”

Wait. What?

Of course, I clicked on it, only to be disappointed to find out she’s still dead and the notification only meant the Janis Joplin page was livestreaming Side 1 of Pearl on vinyl. That’s the first time in my life I’ve ever been disappointed to hear “Move Over.”

U.S. citizens spend more than two hours per day on social media, according to a 2020 survey by eMarketer. And Facebook alone has more than 2.7 billion active users.

Much of that social-media time is spent during work hours. Some of it is work-related, but most of it isn’t. In a Pew Research survey, the top reason people checked social media during work was to take a mental break (34%), followed by keeping in touch with family and friends (27%). Almost half of the workers surveyed by Bambu said they check social media intermittently throughout the day.

And we have no issue sharing sensitive information or trusting the integrity of what we see and read on social media. The point is we’ve become very comfortable with remote connectivity and its security in our personal lives.

So, why is cybersecurity still the top concern of businesses, according to a 2019 survey from The Travelers Companies? Is it the stakes that drive leaders to such risk aversion?

Cybersecurity is a way of life for businesses of every type, whether financial, medical or industrial. Despite our best efforts, breaches still occur.

It’s no wonder. Cyber attacks on computers with Internet access take place every 39 seconds on average, according to a December 2020 study out of the University of Maryland, affecting one in three Americans every year.

Combative strategies exist. Defense in depth. Block chain. The list goes on, and new ones are on the horizon. So, don’t let the threat of cyber hackers block your business objectives. Reap the rewards of connectivity and data analysis. The rewards far outweigh the risk. Shared information is far more valuable than siloed data. Remember you’re not alone. By the time you’ve finished reading this, someone has posted an update to Facebook that could be important. You’d better check on that.

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