The social media threat?

Social media

In April, LANDesk, an IT solutions company located in South Jordan, UT, presented research at the InfoSecurity Europe show that revealed, 61 percent of IT decision makers in the United Kingdom view the use of social media by company employees as their biggest security concern.

“Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have changed the way we communicate with one another,” said vice president Andy Baldin. “Today more end-users than ever are able to easily download software and manage the way they use IT. As a result, many employees see themselves as their own IT manager, which has the potential to cause a number of problems for organizations. As applications evolve, end-users increasingly download new software add-ons, which can expose businesses to new security threats.”

The study also found that 58 percent of staff admitted to posting information about their company on social media platforms.

“There's no question that as social media continues to evolve, IT departments will find themselves fighting more fires, resulting in greater resourcing and financial pressures,” Baldwin noted. “We would encourage all IT departments to get in touch with their software vendors to learn about the tools and practices that can be put in place to help minimize security threats and future proof their business."

“Technology has impeded upon the discretion of individuals,” Robert Stringfellow, President and CEO of Megadata Technology LLC, of Fort Washington, MD, told GSN: Government Security News. “We have more whistle blowers and once information is out there you can’t usually get it back. So that becomes a big part of the growth.”

Stringfellow, who recently sat down to talk to GSN about cyber-security issues, said of putting information up on social media sites, like Facebook, “We need to educate people on how to protect their own data. Nothing will change until people, as individuals, appreciate protecting their own data. If you don’t protect it at home, in your own life then you can’t help others. Taking physical responsibility for your own information is crucial.

“So many people in the government have all this information out there, on all these social networking sites, and that is not a solid foundation for protecting data. We need to build up annual security training. It doesn’t have to be mandated but it should be offered on a far wider basis.”