Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    FaceTime Survey Warns About Greynets in the Enterprise

    By
    Brian Prince
    -
    October 16, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Officials at FaceTime Communications see no gray area when it comes to the spread of greynets in enterprises.

      Greynets are real-time communication applications such as Skype, instant messaging and peer-to-peer applications that are typically downloaded by users without the permission or knowledge of the IT staff.

      In its report “Use of Greynets: 3rd Annual Survey of Trends, Attitudes and Impact”, FaceTime researchers found 99 percent of IT managers reported having at least one greynet in use at their business in spite of the security tools at their disposal-and eight in 10 have had a security incident due to a greynet.

      “The characteristics that all those applications have in common is that theyre very evasive on the networks,” said Frank Cabri, vice president of product management and marketing at the Belmont, Calif., company. “They are very good at circumventing existing security infrastructure.”

      Dealing with greynets is FaceTimes claim to fame in the security market, where the company offers tools to secure and control greynet applications on corporate networks.

      The survey included responses from more than 700 employees and IT managers in North America and the United Kingdom, and focused on businesses and government organizations. Participants not only reported an increase in the number of greynets, but also in the cost of dealing with security threats.

      IT managers reported spending an average of nearly $289,000 annually to repair or reimage company PCs after malware attacks over greynets. The cost reported in last years study was nearly $130,000 per year.

      On average, IT managers experience nearly 60 incidents per month that require some kind of repair or remediation to end-user PCs, with each requiring an average of nearly 10 hours of work. Instant messaging applications are the frequent sources of apprehension among the survey respondents when it comes to greynets.

      Click here to read about FaceTimes gateway security appliance.

      Forty percent reported that public IM use at work poses a “serious risk,” while another 46 percent stated it posed “some risk.” Some 45 percents of employees work at locations where personal IM messaging is monitored by the organization.

      Respondents also indicated they were concerned about complying with industry and regulatory compliance standards. Although 55 percent of IT managers have received guidance from their corporate counsel about archiving and storing employee communications such as e-mails and IMs, 45 percent conceded they would be unable to produce an archive or record of a specific employees IM communications if required to do so for legal reasons.

      One of the biggest reasons behind the continued prevalence of greynets appears to be a disconnect between the typical employee and IT management. For example, eight in 10 IT managers find anonymizers-applications that disguise traffic to permit anonymous use of the Internet-risky to corporate networks, whereas 57 percent of users feel the same.

      The survey showed that 38 percent of employees proclaimed outright their belief that they have the right to download the applications they need onto their work PCs, regardless of whether or not those applications are sanctioned by IT.

      It is a familiar theme seen in previous reports and underscores the need for IT management to work more closely with employees to understand changing workplace needs and educate the work force on security and compliance issues, FaceTime officials said.

      “I think this is the dilemma right: Its how much do you service and provide the right applications that employees need to be productive and get their job done?” Cabri said.

      Check out eWEEK.coms Security Center for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEKs Security Watch blog.

      Brian Prince
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×