The rise of online social networking poses new risks for businesses and new challenges for IT Management. As sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo become evermore popular with end-users, businesses must consider risks such as employee cyber-slacking, reputation damage, broken privacy, identity theft and the threat of virus and spyware infections. This guide will help you reduce the risks of uncontrolled social networking use within the workplace and prescribes seven simple steps for both you and your end-users.
Be certain
Social Networking Social and business networking sites are
changing the way people talk online.
Guide for IT Managers Sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo help friends stay in touch while LinkedIn and Plaxo mainly connect business users. They are very popular but present new challenges to IT managers.
They seem to have come out of nowhere. For example, Facebook now has 61m active users world wide and Australian membership almost doubled during 2007. This extraordinary growth is part of the problem. Companies risk being caught off guard.
1. Facebook users today: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics. Users in February: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?timeline.Be certain
Cyber-slacking. Social networking sites can be addictive and time-consuming. Cyber-slacking is a genuine concern.
Broken privacy and identity theft. Reputation risk. Some services also allow third parties to run There is also a risk to your company's reputation. Social applications that have access to users' profile. This networking is more public and less formal than company email. is a potential privacy risk. People publish a wealth of It is also easier to use than blog software. It's easy to imagine personal information in their profiles. This makes social employees posting pictures or text that would embarrass their networking sites a happy hunting ground for identity employer. thieves and conmen.
Consider
the RisksIndiscretion. Viruses and spyware. Inadvertent disclosure of confidential information is also a Social networking sites often display risk. You wouldn't publish your organisation chart and phone advertisements. At MessageLabs, we have seen directory on the internet; but a head-hunter or identity thief can adverts on several popular sites that install use information on social network sites to reconstruct this kind viruses and spyware.of information.
Legal Risks. It may be tempting to monitor employees' use of social networking sites. However, while Australian law allows employers to monitor and survey web and email transmissions, employers are obligated to pre-notify employees that their computer use is being monitored. It's a legal minefield. Tread carefully! ... [download for more]
