A survey done by web security company Websense revealed that malware attacks are on the rise at the workplace, thanks to increased usage of social media.
It said that 52 per cent of organisations had experienced an increase in malware attacks as a direct result of employees’ use of social media. Over 4,600 IT and IT security practitioners in 12 countries were polled in the survey. Singapore , the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Germany reported the highest increases.
The survey aims to determine what IT and security practitioners throughout the world think about the security risks that are associated with employee use of social media. The dynamic social web is different from the older static web. It requires an IT security defence that goes beyond signature and fixed-policy web technologies (like anti-virus and firewalls), because while they are necessary defences, they are not sufficient. For example, a new link is posted to a popular social network and it directs users to a site that downloads or leads to data-stealing code via obscure JavaScript. Organisations need security technology that can analyse links as they appear, because the link path is new and doesn’t have a recognisable signature.
Furthermore, employees were found to log onto social networking sites for at least 30 minutes per day. The study said that while 63 per cent of employers recognised social media as a possible threat to the workplace, only 29 per cent have adequate protection against cyber threats.
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