Social networks have infiltrated themselves into the lives of millions of Internet users. While some businesses have embraced the phenomenon, others are being negatively impacted by the use of social networks at the office.
Aside from distracting individuals from their everyday work and affecting companies’ bottom lines, they are also negatively impacting their security.
Facebook, which has 350 million users worldwide, is the most disruptive to businesses because of the security risks involved, according to a recent report by Sophos. Reports show there has been a 70 percent increase since April 2009 in the number of spam and malware attacks on companies via social networks.
More and more companies are worried that social networks accessed through their systems are the cause of an increase in malware and spam attacks. The number of businesses affected by spam increased from 33.4 percent in April 2009 to 57 percent in December. And worldwide spam volumes could rise this year by 30 to 40 percent compared to 2009, according to Cisco’s annual security report.
Finding Balance Between Sales and Security
When companies first began noticing a decrease in productivity by employees using social networks while at work, many accepted the use of social media because it allowed employees to spread the word about their product or service, which equated to more sales.
Businesses such as JetBlue Airways, Comcast, PepsiCo and others are using social networks to communicate with customers to get feedback on their brands and market their businesses.
In fact, Dell last year came forward to say it had more than $2 million in PC sales directly through the use of its DellOutlet account on Twitter.
And a slew of new businesses have been formed that specifically focus on providing entrepreneurs and business professionals with the tools to market their business on Facebook and other social…