IT manager turning a blind eye to security risks of social networks

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

by Stuart Corner

Tuesday, 15 April 2008

! A survey by IT managers by Galaxy Research found that 46 percent of them permit access to social networking sites and few see them as threat to security Related stories Worms in space: NASA confirms International Space Station infected Giving identity thieves and hackers the big finger – protect yourself! Whoops! iPhone passcode bypass a cinch Sack us and we will leave with your data, say IT Admins EXCLUSIVE: Best Western Pwned, new facts emerging The survey - among IT managers of organisations in Australia and New Zealand where a minimum of 500 employees had email access - was commissioned by messaging security company, MessageLabs. According to country manager ANZ, Andrew Antal, "This research shows an alarming number of IT managers in Australia and New Zealand are behind the curve when it comes to the new wave of threats. These sites are among the most visited on the Internet and the bad guys are looking for ways to take advantage of this wave of traffic. "While people have become more aware of the traditional spam and phishing attacks, web-based threats are sneaking in, providing a new way for viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware to enter and damage the corporate network, placing information at risk." He added: "While many people are aware of social networking sites being both addictive and time-consuming, there is also a risk of data leakage and identity theft. In addition to this, employers may be identified and there is always the possibility of derogatory comments or disclosure of commercially sensitive information being made by an employee, which then becomes a permanent feature online...We recommend businesses instigate an acceptable usage policy to educate employees on the risks of social networking. Regular training and guidance on the correct use of email and internet at work are simple tactics that can be put into place." MessageLabs says that an analysis of its Australian client base showed that, among those that have an acceptable usage policy applied to MySpace, Facebook and Bebo social networking sites: 73 percent of policies are set as 'Block and Log", 19 percent "Allow Access and Log"; five percent "Allow Access" and five percent "Block Access".   The Galaxy survey also found that 69 percent of IT managers viewed 'loss of productivity' as the biggest problem with social networking sites but only seven percent saw them as a threat to security and only eight percent as an avenue for data leakage and 16 percent as an avenue for identity theft. However 34 per cent of IT managers view inappropriate usage of the web by employees as the biggest threat to their security systems and 33 percent view the convergence and sophistication of threats as the biggest threat. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Malware  Security  Social networks  Stuart Corner  Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now

 

< Next story in category		Previous story in the category >