IT departments failing to respond to information security risk posed by social media
Research by DeviceLock finds many UK businesses don’t have the right tools to secure increasing use of social media in the workplace
London, UK, 15 December 2011 - DeviceLock, Inc., an international leader in endpoint data leak prevention solutions, today announced the results of its survey of UK IT professionals into the level of information security risk posed by social media. The results revealed a lack of adequate security measures is leaving many UK businesses open to the loss sensitive information via social media applications despite the majority of corporate IT teams voicing concerns over the increased risk of a data leak occurring. DeviceLock also found that 44 per cent of the businesses surveyed did not have any technology solutions in place to prevent corporate data from leakage via online channels such as Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.
With the growing use of social media applications in the corporate environment, it is widely recognised that a robust data leak solution is now vital. DeviceLock found that 92 per cent of respondents cited social media tools, whether used in a personal or private capacity, as an information security concern for their company and that the majority of employees (84 per cent) were accessing personal social media accounts using corporate devices. In addition, just under three-quarters of respondents said that employees access corporate data through personal devices, yet nearly half admitted that there were no security solutions, either on the network or the endpoint, to prevent unauthorised data leakage from their company.
“Social media is now an integral part of life for many of us from both a business and personal perspective and the growing use of consumer devices in the workplace means the lines are becoming even more blurred,” said Ashot Oganesyan, Founder and CTO, DeviceLock, Inc. “The results of the survey show that despite the fact many businesses understand the risks posed by social media to information security, there are not enough businesses taking this risk seriously.
Where businesses have implemented security measures to address potential points of information leakage, the DeviceLock survey highlighted the issue that these can be counter-productive if they prevent employees from carrying out their work. Indeed, 44 per cent of respondents said they felt that the data leak security measures their firm had in place impede employees from doing their jobs effectively. “For those that do have a system in place, the survey emphasises that these solutions have to work with the employee, rather than constrain what they can and cannot do with social media,” added Oganesyan.
For more information on the data leak risks that are present in all businesses, please visit DeviceLock’s website.
Luke Davies
Aspectus PR
+44 (0)20 7242 8867
luke.davies@aspectuspr.com
About DeviceLock, Inc.
Since 1996, DeviceLock, Inc. has been providing endpoint device control and data leak prevention software solutions to businesses of all sizes and industries. Protecting more than four million computers in more than 60,000 organisations worldwide, DeviceLock has a vast range of corporate customers including financial institutions, state and federal government agencies, classified military networks, healthcare providers, telecommunications companies, and educational institutions. DeviceLock, Inc. is an international organisation with offices in San Ramon, California, London (UK), Ratingen (Germany), Moscow (Russia) and Milan (Italy).
COPYRIGHT ©2011 DeviceLock, Inc. All rights reserved. DeviceLock® and the DeviceLock logo are registered trademarks of DeviceLock, Inc. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, visit DeviceLock web-site at www.devicelock.com.
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