Companies blocking access to Social Media sites are Hackers’ primary targets
Posted by Adriana Tayraco on Fri, Nov 18, 2011
Banning employees from Facebook, Twitter and other sites shows a 30% increase in computer security breaches
TELUS and the Rotman School of Management have published their third annual IT security study. This time, the study revealed an increase in the number of security breaches in both government entities and companies in the private sector; with government entities experiencing twice the number of attacks – almost a 74% increase. Most of these attacks are aimed at obtaining sensitive citizen data for identity theft purposes.
From 2009 to 2010, companies experienced a 29% increase in security breaches. The report states that “incidents for publicly traded organizations continue to rise, reporting six times the number of breaches experienced in 2008”. The report shows that the average cost of a breach was $195,588 for a publicly traded company, $70,833 for a Private company and $58,929 for a government entity.
The most shocking find; however, seems to be the that companies that are currently blocking access to social networking sites (1 in 4) are the ones seeing the most increase in computer security breaches; perhaps because employees themselves are trying to circumvent the block. Dr. Walid Hejazi, Professor of Business Economics at the Rotman School of Management stated “We see a need to maintain control in an ever-changing threat environment, where attacks are designed to penetrate security using the latest technologies and processes; however, our research indicates that the adoption of social networking in the workplace is simply not a contributing factor to breach increases. The best course of action is to instill a sense of trust and educate employees on how to engage in social networking appropriately."
It is really not all that unexpected, considering the amount of time most of us spend online and according to Dr. Hejazi, most employees will always find a way (usually through using a third party software) to circumvent firewalls which will allow them to update their Facebook status but will also create an open door for hackers to come in and play. The solution, Dr. Hejazi says, “isn’t to block all access, but to bring in awareness training with it so people fully understand what they are doing (by installing firewall-breaching software).”
Companies are still learning the hard way that social media will have an impact on their business and their overall productivity. The TELUS-Rotman study has brought to light the complexity of the role of IT security in organizations who try to block or control their employees’ online behavior. Employees need to be taught proper online etiquette and a Social Media Policy should be put in place. Along with these measures, a company should be aware of the importance of monitoring their online reputation. As social media continues to expand and employees continue to express themselves through its various channels, enlisting the services of a social media monitoring tool will let management sleep at night not having to worry about that rogue employee trashing your newest product campaign because he did not get the raise he wanted.
By educating your own staff you’ll find that they can be your eyes and ears and ‘patrol’ the internet for mentions of your brand and help you protect your online reputation. It’s like they say; if you can’t beat them – join them.
How is your company controlling its employees social media usage? Do you block only certain sites? Do you have a social media policy in place? Let us know in the comment box below!