Hazards of social media at work

Low employee productivity and reduced information technology (IT) bandwidth are the biggest drawbacks of the rise in the use of social media at work, according to a survey.

A total of 90 per cent respondents in a global survey on the risks of social media, conducted by Ponemon Institute, say the use of social media at work hits the productivity of employees, while 73 per cent say it results in low IT bandwidth. The study surveyed nearly 5,000 IT and IT security practitioners across 12 countries, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, India and Brazil.

Lack of clear IT policies for social networks has started taking a toll on Indian companies. About 39 per cent organisations do not have a policy that informs employees about the acceptable use of social media in the workplace and in the ones that do, only 49 per cent respondents say the policy is enforced. Though the study reveals most respondents feel social media at work represents a serious security risk, only 29 per cent have the necessary security controls in place to mitigate the risks. Nearly half of those surveyed agreed viruses and malware infections were increasing as a result of the use of social media.

“Organisations need security technologies that can analyse links as they appear, since the link path is new and doesn't have a recognisable signature or known payload. New technologies like social media, cloud services, and mobility require real-time content security,” the report says.