South African social network users are slowly becoming more aware of the security implications of sharing sensitive information across social networks.
This is the view of Stephan van der Merwe, Kaspersky Lab's head of operations for Sub-Saharan Africa, commenting on a recent ITWeb survey. He will also speak at the ITWeb Kaspersky Lab Social Networking Security Forum on 12 April in Sandton.
The ITWeb-Kaspersky Lab Social Networking Threats Survey investigated how much information is shared among people via social networks. It surveyed 304 people, the majority being business users from the IT, financial and banking, and telecoms sectors.
The study discovered that 48% of respondents share information with only people they know, while 46% share certain information with everybody.
According to the survey, 97.2% of respondents belong to a social network. Around 93% say they belong to Facebook, while only 13% belong to LinkedIn, 61% to Twitter and 10% to MySpace.
Van der Merwe explains that Facebook's strength lies in its usability, and the fact that more people are familiar and comfortable with the social network. This is despite the fact that LinkedIn, rather than Facebook, is the one geared more towards business.
The survey also found that the majority (91.4%) say their social network profile has never been hacked.
However, Van der Merwe points out, sometimes people aren't even aware of when their profile does get hacked, or what it means to have a hacked profile.
He says once a malicious link in a social network is clicked, an application will be installed silently in the background, which can be used to track a user's keystrokes.
He adds: “It is generally only when users' profiles are hacked or when an obvious malicious attack has occurred and others hear about it, that they become more concerned with their own online safety.
“Some applications that are malicious in nature look like legitimate applications and people are oblivious to the effects installing these applications may have.”
As people become more educated in the way of online security, the number of uncompromised profiles should increase as people become more aware of what is really happening, he adds.
According to the survey results, 44% of companies rate online security as a big concern. Van der Merwe says this becomes more important as South Africans conduct more online business.
He says: “South African companies need to ensure that they are properly secure when utilising the Internet for their business. So many companies fall prey to malicious attacks and only after the fact do they secure their networks. A proactive approach to security is crucial to maintain network security.”
Over 50% of respondents worry about business information leaking through a social network. According to Van der Merwe, companies are liable for the security and integrity of their information.
He cautions: “Companies who do not comply with new governance and compliance laws such as King III can face hefty fines and even personal prosecution.”
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