Social networks demand “beware and prepare” approach

Beverley Head
Tuesday, 11 May 2010 18:44

Business IT - Networking

Enterprises such as Telstra, Westpac and Qantas turned out at a conference in Sydney today to learn that the advent of social networks requires them to adopt a ‘beware and prepare’ strategy so that they are not caught unawares by some of the risks which can arise when using Web 2.0 style tools.

But organisations can’t afford to avoid the risks by simply ring-fencing their operations from social networks. As one presentation noted: “the ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in five years.”

Enterprises were warned that rolling out consumer-grade social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter as their platforms for social interaction with employees and clients was a risky strategy. Instead, David Banes Cleartext CEO, suggested enterprise class social network tools such its own microblogging system or Jive SBS were better suited to enterprise deployment and could be integrated with existing business systems.

There is strong enterprise enthusiasm for social networks as evidenced by a survey released last month by social network developer Community Engine, which found that by the end of the year 71 per cent of Australian organisations intend to conduct some form of social media activity.

According to the 2010 Social Media Business Benchmarking Survey, conducted by market analyst Nielsen 27 per cent of Australian businesses already have a Facebook presence, 17 per cent are on Twitter, 10 percent on YouTube, 5 per cent on MySpace and 2 percent on Linked In. According to Gartner, Web 2.0 is the third highest priority among international CIOs (although Australian CIOs are slightly less gung ho, rating it their sixth highest priority).

Banes explained that it was important for companies to carefully understand the vulnerabilities associated with Web 2.0 style tools and the need for policies to protect themselves and their employees. This might also involve using technology such as a “profanity filter and run everything through a big proxy server so you have records for e-discovery.”

Hacklabs director, Chris Gatford, a “penetration tester and ethical hacker” warned that at present companies were being bombarded by a “Sudden spring of Web 2.0 services to pimp their brands.” He said that enterprises were in danger of “Putting a lot more of their data in to the hands of Web 2.0 companies – and I’m sorry to stereotype them -  but they are groups of nerdy little people who care more about how the data looks,” than about its integrity and security.