A new “Global Survey on Social Media Risks” reveals a dangerous gap in corporate social media security. It says 63 percent of more than 4,000 respondents in 12 countries said that social media in the workplace represents a serious security risk — yet only 29 percent report having the necessary security controls in place to mitigate it.
More than 50 percent of respondents report an increase in malware due to social media use.
The research, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by content security provider Websense, Inc., is claimed to be the first study that determines what IT and security practitioners throughout the world think about the security risks that are associated with employee use of social media.
[ Also Read: 10 Things Workers Want to See on Social Media ]
In a related development, Websense technology will add to Facebook’s existing protections to stop users from clicking on links without knowing the trustworthiness of the destination. (Read: Facebook Users to Enjoy Websense Security)
The survey further explains that the dynamic social web is qualitatively different from the older static web. It requires an IT security defense that goes beyond signature and fixed-policy web technologies (like antivirus and firewalls), because while they are necessary defenses, they are not sufficient.
