As we reported earlier this year, research from Cisco’s Mid-Year Security Report found that 50% of end users admitted to accessing social media tools at work at least once a week, in spite of company rules. And another 27% have changed the settings on a company device to access prohibited sites or applications.
While social media sites are often viewed as a problem due to lower worker productivity, they’re also a concern due to issues of security. Now that people have become more savvy about email security, they’re using email less. And malware threats have followed them – from email to social networking sites.
According to data compiled by Cisco, only 1.4% of malware encounters in enterprises in the first quarter of 2010 were caused by users clicking links in email. But another study, by Panda Security, found that about a third of small and medium-sized businesses had been infected with malware originating from social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Many enterprises, fearing the spread of malware and the loss of productivity, data and money, have clamped down on use of social media networks in the workplace.. According to ScanSafe data, 64% of ScanSafe’s customer base blocks access to social networking sites for 50% or more of their staff.
But workers want access to these tools, and the benefits of better communication and collaboration fostered by social networks shouldn’t be minimized. And as Chris King, director of product marketing at Palo Alto Networks said earlier this year:
“IT departments are stuck in an old world. In the old world, if an application has a business use, then it’s safe and you allow it. If it doesn’t have a business use, then it’s a threat and you block it. That black and white world is gone. Facebook has business uses, but it also poses threats.”
But even though there are options to address network security and social media concerns, few companies have established formal processes for handling social networking tools in the workplace. And even few – only 10% according to Cisco – have IT departments directly involved in social media initiatives.
Arguably, even more than banning or blocking social media sites outright, companies need to work with employees to address their social media questions and make sure these are answered by the right people, so that errors that impact network security can be avoided.
Key photo by nkzs; Photoshop by RWW.
