With more and more staff using social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace from work, plenty of businesses are asking the question, “If social networks are such a risk, shouldn’t we just block them?”
When social networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace first emerged, some businesses viewed them as a distraction from work and banned them. With the appearance of other social formats, such as Twitter however, companies have begun to embrace this potential for collaboration. Social networking has evolved from personal networking to become a media for mass communication. Many companies now view web sites such as Twitter as a valuable marketing channel.
Given these new legitimate business uses, a policy banning these social networking web sites completely seems counterproductive. While serious business roles exist for these tools, for security reasons, companies should still monitor how employees interact with them.
Security experts such as Herbert Thompson, a professor in the Computer Science department at Columbia University, has warned about the dangers of revealing personal information on social networks. People may post personal details, for example their Mother’s maiden name, that are often used by secure web sites as password prompts.
“People are posting indiscriminately – they throw weird information out there. What has happened is there has been a growth in the technology for information sharing but not a commensurate education in what information we should share,” he said.
So, while a strict ban of social networking web sites may not be the answer, companies should consider creating and enforcing regulations on how they should be used, especially in relation to company business. A recent study conducted by IESE Business School in Spain, E. Philip Saunders, College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology in the US, and Henley Business School in the UK, revealed that six out of seven companies don’t have a formal policy on how social networks should be used within their businesses. “Ignoring the increased usage and influence of social networking and Web 2.0 tools leaves organisations at the risk of misuse, potentially leading to the disclosure of sensitive information or misrepresentation of the company,” said Evgeny Kaganer, Ph.D., lead researcher and assistant professor, IESE Business School.
For more on securing social networks view, “The Do’s and Don’ts on Social Networking,” on YouTube by Roger Thompson, AVG’s chief research officer.
