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Security: Social Media Security Incidents Are Costly
Enterprises still remain wary of Social Media and Web 2.0 interfaces, and possibly with good reason. Web 2.0 interfaces continue to be more exploitable by cyberhackers than more traditional interfaces. A report published by Purdue University’s CERIAS (Center for Education and Research in Information and Security) and funded by McAfee found that 60 percent of 1000 companies surveyed suffered losses of more than $2 million due to vulnerabilities in Web 2.0 applications. This figure seems astoundingly high. Total global losses are estimated to total $1.1 billion. 60 percent of companies also say that they worry that the reputation of their organization could be adversely impacted as the result of the misuse of Web 2.0 technologies.
Security problems have led 81 percent of companies to block at least one social media, micro-blogging or collaboration tool. 13 percent of companies block all such tools for their employees.
The problem areas that were identified by companies included:
- Malicious software (35%),
- Viruses (15%)
- Information overexposure (11%)
- Spyware (10%)
CERIAS founder and executive director, Eugene H. Spafford, said that “Web 2.0 and social networking technologies can be used effectively for some business purposes. But to reap the benefits of Web 2.0, organizations must be proactive about understanding and managing the corresponding challenges. That involves putting the right policies in place, and deploying the technology that can enforce those policies.” But a problem is that a third of companies have no policies around the use of Social Media and three quarters do nothing to monitor the usage of it within their companies.
Web 2.0 adoption rates are as high as 90 percent in countries Brazil, Spain and India, but lowest in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The report found that companies are balancing security concerns against the benefits of Web 2.0 technologies that include increased productivity and more effective marketing.
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