I think this comes down to a case of properly recognizing your IT asset and securing it appropriately.
The introduction of social media (also known as Web 2.0 back in the day) into government was in my view mostly reactive and an attempt to ‘be hip with what the kids are doing these days’. Things have certainly matured over the years and for the political classes social media is a very valid medium to communicate with the public and most handle the messaging side of it very well.
Where I think things have gone a little astray is understanding its value as an IT asset. Social media accounts for most platforms were never developed with the intent of being an official channel of communication for any organisation or political entity. The security originally was at a level appropriate to a personal internet service. All the major platforms have of course adapted to the new environment and introduced better security measures to protect their product (note, not users or customers….product, but that is another conversation entirely). But technology without process will never succeed.
Organisations and public figures need to understand that security of their ICT systems also include the systems that don’t actually belong to them.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/politicians-warned-to-use-higherlevel-security-on-social-media-accounts/news-story/78ee468e47e5fa042b3d74a22dcf9e29
