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

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 15 April 2008 06:02

Your IT - Home IT

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

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.