Close
  • Latest News
  • 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
  • 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 Development
    • Development
    • IT Management
    • Small Business

    Half of SMBs Block Employee Access to Facebook: Report

    By
    Nathan Eddy
    -
    November 16, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Research commissioned by Internet security specialist Webroot suggested small to midsize businesses are becoming more vigilant when it comes to their employees’ use of social networking sites. The survey of more than 1,000 businesses from the United States and United Kingdom with up to 500 employees found most (81 percent) have an employee Internet policy. Half (50 percent) said employees are not permitted to visit any social networks via a company computer or laptop.

      The report found just as new variants of the Koobface social networking worm continue to evolve, so are company policies-some have made changes as a result of an employee’s misuse of these sites: 42 percent have implemented an Internet use policy as a result of an employee’s inappropriate use of a social networking site, and more than one-third (34 percent) deployed a Web security product to monitor Internet use and enforce policies.

      Four in 10 of those polled (39 percent) have an Internet use policy that prohibits employees from visiting Facebook, while 30 percent block access to Twitter and 27 percent prohibit access to video-sharing sites like YouTube. Two in 10 SMBs (21 percent) allow employees to visit social networking sites only during specific times (lunch break, after work hours, etc.), and 16 percent grant certain departments (e.g., marketing) permission to visit specific social networking sites.

      “Clearly the potential impact of social networks as a threat vector has hit home for IT administrators,” said Gerhard Eschelbeck, CTO of Webroot. “One in six of those we surveyed said a social networking site or Web 2.0 application was the source of an infection or attack, and over half of companies said their network was infected with spyware this year. Every company needs to develop a policy for social networking use and should also deploy reliable Web security services for ongoing protection against zero-day threats.”

      The report also found that concern about threats via social networking sites remains high. More than half of those polled (53 percent) said they are very or extremely concerned about malware infections via social networks, while two out of five (42 percent) said they are very or extremely concerned about data leakage through social networking sites.

      Nearly one-third (30 percent) say Web-based threats caused the biggest security headache for them in 2010, and more than one in 10 (12 percent) say sensitive company information has been released via their employees’ use of social networking sites. Half of those surveyed said they were victims of a virus or worm, while four in 10 said they experienced a phishing attack this year.

      Webroot sponsored the online survey of businesses with 500 and fewer employees between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3. Invitations to participate were emailed by e-Rewards to panel members in the United Kingdom and the United States. Respondents qualified for the survey if they were purchase decision makers for e-mail or Web security. At the 95 percent confidence level, the margin of error is ??3.0 percentage points for the full sample of 1,087 respondents, ??3.6 points for the U.S. sample of 751 and ??5.4 points for the U.K. sample of 336 respondents.

      Nathan Eddy
      A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Nathan was perviously the editor of gaming industry newsletter FierceGameBiz and has written for various consumer and tech publications including Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, CRN, and The Times of London. Currently based in Berlin, he released his first documentary film, The Absent Column, in 2013.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      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

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      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.
      © 2021 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.

      ×