Social media protection
How to stop social media account hijacking
Give people roles instead of passwords, use phishing-resistant sign-in, and know the recovery steps before you need them.
Key takeaways
- Company pages are usually taken through a person's account, not the page itself.
- Use platform roles so nobody shares a password.
- Security keys and passkeys resist phishing; text codes do not.
- A stolen session can skip MFA, so review sessions and browser extensions.
- Know each platform's recovery route before an incident.
Social media account hijacking is when an attacker takes control of a company profile, usually through a phished password, a stolen session or a compromised admin. Prevent it by giving people platform roles instead of shared logins, using phishing-resistant sign-in for every admin, limiting who holds full control, and writing down the recovery steps.
Why are B2B company accounts a target?
A company profile carries borrowed trust. Followers, customers and staff expect its posts and messages to be genuine, so a link posted from it is more likely to be trusted than one from a stranger. A hijacked page can also be used to impersonate your leaders, which ties this risk to executive impersonation and fake profiles.
There is a quieter cost too. Lost admin access can freeze a page during a launch or a crisis, and ad accounts linked to it can be used to run spend you did not approve.
How should you set up admin access?
Give each person a role on the platform, and stop sharing logins. LinkedIn and YouTube are two examples:
- LinkedIn separates a super admin, which "gives access to every Page admin permission available", from content admins and analysts with narrower rights.[1]
- YouTube channel permissions give people specific roles such as owner, manager, editor or viewer, and YouTube recommends moving to them to "prevent security risks such as password sharing".[2]
Then keep full control small. Two named people with super admin or owner rights is a sensible floor so one departure does not lock you out; everyone else gets the narrowest role that fits their work. Review the list whenever someone leaves or an agency contract ends, and remove connected third-party apps that no longer need posting rights.
Which MFA should admins use?
Use phishing-resistant sign-in for everyone who can manage a company page. NIST's current guideline defines phishing resistance as "the ability of the authentication protocol to prevent the disclosure of authentication secrets", and says authenticators that involve manually entering an output, such as one-time codes, are not phishing resistant.[3] It also restricts the use of the phone network for out-of-band authentication.[3]
CISA calls phishing-resistant MFA "the gold standard" and lists SIM swap among the attacks that can get around weaker MFA.[4] In practice that means security keys or passkeys on each admin's account, with codes from an app only as a fallback. Our guide to passkeys and WebAuthn covers how they work.
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Why can a stolen session get around MFA?
After sign-in, a platform keeps you logged in with a session cookie. MITRE ATT&CK notes that a stolen cookie can be used "to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials", and that session cookies can be used to bypass some MFA protocols.[5] Cookie theft usually comes from infostealer malware or a malicious browser extension on the admin's device.
Defenses are mostly about the device and the browser:
- Manage company pages from a work browser profile with only approved extensions.
- Keep devices patched and protected by endpoint security.
- Review active sessions on admin accounts and sign out of any you do not recognize.
- Treat an unexpected new session or admin as an incident, not a glitch.
What do you do if an account is hijacked?
Follow the platform's own recovery route; do not use links from emails or recovery services that contact you. LinkedIn asks you to submit its unauthorized access report, and if you can still sign in, to change the password, turn on two-factor authentication, review active sessions and check the email addresses and phone numbers on the account.[6] Meta's guidance for a hacked Facebook Page is to submit its recovery form, then review the Page and business portfolio, undo any changes you do not recognize, and turn on Advanced Protection.[7]
At the same time:
- Secure the email account linked to the affected admin, since recovery links go there.
- Sign out of all sessions and rotate passwords and second factors.
- Remove admins, apps and ad account users you did not add.
- Delete harmful posts and messages, keeping screenshots first.
If the account was used for fraud, data theft or malware, bring in your incident response provider and counsel. Forensic work and incident response are for specialist firms you contract with directly.
How do you handle the public side?
Tell people what happened once you are back in control. A short post on the recovered account and your other channels should say which posts or messages were not from you and how to verify genuine contact. Brief customer support and sales so they answer consistently, and keep the statement factual.
How do you keep these defenses current?
Make it routine. Keep a register of every company account with its named owners, roles and recovery details, stored in a password manager or vault the security team controls. Review roles and connected apps on a fixed cycle and after any staff change, and run a short recovery drill so people know the steps. Our executive cybersecurity checklist covers the personal accounts of the leaders who often hold admin rights.
Our social media protection service covers the account inventory, roles review and recovery planning as part of our digital asset security work.
Sources
- LinkedIn Page admin roles
- Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions
- NIST SP 800-63B-4: Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Authenticator Management
- Implementing Phishing-Resistant MFA
- Steal Web Session Cookie (T1539)
- Report a compromised account
- Recover a hacked Facebook Page that you manage
Written under our Editorial and AI Policy. Sources checked 19 Oct 2026. Reviewed by DGo Digital on 19 Oct 2026.
FAQ
Questions about account hijacking
After you sign in, the platform stores a session cookie in your browser. If malware or a malicious extension copies that cookie, an attacker can use it to act as you without the password, which can get around some multi-factor checks. Signing out of all sessions and changing the password cuts that access.