Social networking leads to data loss, study finds

Contributed by Roumiana Deltcheva (Tuesday, September 21, 2010) | Category : Email security

As more businesses turn to social networking sites to reach new customers, a recent study has found they also put their corporate data at risk.

The survey, conducted by a California-based email security firm, investigated data loss among 261 organizations with more than 1,000 employees. Twenty percent of respondents experienced data loss through social media during the past 12 months. In response, 20 percent of those respondents reported disciplining an employee for releasing corporate data through social networking and 9 percent actually removed an employee.

The survey also found that, even though they may have security policies that cover the websites, data-leak prevention is essential as many employees find a way around their employers' regulations and risk corporate data on social networking sites.

Some of the most popular social networking sites are responsible for corporate data loss. Facebook and LinkedIn were recognized as a high data loss concern for 53 percent of respondents. However, just 31 percent of respondents prohibit LinkedIn at their offices, and 53 percent prohibit Facebook.

The trend has posed a number of security threats to business networks, as a recent study found 33 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses experienced a malware infection through social networking sites.