The danger facing SMEs: Social networking malware

Social networking has changed the way businesses communicate with their customers and partners, with most organisations now incorporating social media into their marketing and communications strategies. Unsurprisingly, the popularity of this new media has also created an influx of social-specific malware.

In the first eight months of 2011, Facebook added more than 250 million users. Today, the average person spends 16% of his or her time online at social sites, often checking these sites from work or on company-supplied laptops and smartphones. And employers, for the most part, don`t discourage social networking on these devices during off-hours. However, recent reports show a 20% to 40% increase in malware targeting social networking sites.

"Cyber criminals are very clever in luring social-site users to unwittingly download viruses and malware," says Simon Campbell-Young, CEO of specialist security software distributor Phoenix Software.

"For example, a malicious link may prompt an application or file download to view a news article or video. If a user complies, malware installs on his or her device and quickly spreads throughout their corporate network. Cyber criminals also benefit from the weak passwords individuals use to log into social sites. They know many people still use the same username and password for all their online activities, including banking, shopping and e-mail, and they take advantage of it."

Malicious attacks, on social networks and through other mediums, are the number one cause of data breaches, surpassing lost or stolen laptops and accidental sharing. These attacks impact businesses most notably from a cost perspective. Direct costs include detection, remediation and notification efforts, as well as tech support, credit monitoring and legal fees.

In addition to increased costs, businesses risk the loss of intellectual property from a malware attack. If a cyber criminal gains access to a corporate network, that company stands to lose new product development plans, confidential marketing or shareholder information, and other types of intellectual capital.

"Malware attacks are expensive for any company, but for SMEs, costs are magnified," Campbell-Young adds. "The best strategy for these businesses to protect against social networking malware is a two-pronged approach: education and technology. The easiest way to prepare employees for the types of malware they may come across is by showing them examples. When employees realise how convincing these attacks can be, they will also understand how to avoid them. In addition to employee education, a business anti-virus solution is essential in protecting against social malware."

He points out that not all anti-virus solutions are equal, and the one you choose should include powerful scanning technology that will analyse and detect potential viruses and malware before they infect user machines, active monitoring and protection to protect the network and user machines in real-time, automatically, and malicious Web filtering, which blocks bad URLs before they hit your network with a solution that uses the latest behavioural analysis and malware URL detection technology.

"Rather than face the risks associated with social networking, some SMEs have chosen to ban the use of these applications at the workplace. But in today`s interconnected world, where there are real business benefits from social media, this is not a realistic strategy. Companies must take a practical approach in protecting their organisations against malware attacks, by combining employee education with powerful security solutions," Campbell-Young concludes.