Johannesburg, 22 Aug 2007
Research conducted by IT security and control firm Sophos has revealed that 50% of workers are being blocked from accessing Facebook by their employers who are worried about the Web site's impact on productivity and security, and have, therefore, put policies or access controls in place to ban its use in the workplace.
In a Sophos poll of 600 workers, 43% revealed their company was blocking access to Facebook, while an additional 7% reported that usage of the social networking Web site was restricted and only those with a specific business requirement were allowed to access it.
In contrast, 50% of respondents said their company did not block access to Facebook, with eight percent specifying that the reason was fear of employee backlash.
A second poll showed 66% of workers were concerned that their colleagues were sharing too much information on Facebook, which could lead to identity theft and targeted phishing attacks against the company.
According to Sophos, a large number of Facebook profile pages contain users' employment details, which could be used together with other stolen information, by cyber criminals bent on committing corporate fraud, or to infiltrate company networks.
Last week, Sophos published research showing that 41% of Facebook users were prepared to divulge personal information to a complete stranger (a small plastic frog called Freddi Staur), highlighting the extent of the problem facing businesses.
Companies seem split on the question of Facebook. "Some believe it to be a procrastinator's paradise which can lead to identity theft if users are careless. Others either see it as a valuable networking tool for workers, or are too nervous of employee backlash if the site is suddenly blocked," says Brett Myroff, CEO of master Sophos distributor, NetXactics.
"Companies need to make up their own mind as to whether they want to allow users to access social networking Web sites like Facebook during office hours. If workers are given access to these sites, it is, however, imperative that they are taught best practices to ensure they are not putting their personal and corporate data at risk. Five minutes spent learning the ins-and-outs of Facebook's privacy settings, for instance, could save a lot of heartache later," he adds.
Sophos has reported a rise in the number of customers using its Web Security and Control appliance to block social networking Web sites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook.
LloydsTSB, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs are among the companies reported to have blocked employees from visiting Facebook.
More businesses are restricting access to these kinds of sites and while employees may not like it, these Web sites can represent a security risk if used carelessly. "Unless there's a work purpose, many companies do not see any reason why staff should need to access them during work time.
"Companies are also increasingly looking to secure and control their workers' Web activity because of the impact it can have on the company in terms of productivity, bandwidth and security," he says.
Sophos's user guide for behaving securely on Facebook is available at: www.sophos.com/facebook
To listen to the latest Sophos podcast, which discusses the potential risks posed by social networking Web sites, please visit: www.sophos.com/podcasts.
* Sophos online survey, 600 respondents, 31 July - 13 August 2007; Sophos online survey, 287 respondents, 13 August - 20 August 2007
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