IM and social networking cause work problems

A survey by FaceTime Communications into instant messaging (IM) and social networking usage at work shows an array of problems and embarrassments. Amongst other things, the survey revealed that more people had "friends" on LinkedIn than real life, 42% of malware sent over IM was not picked up by current anti-virus protection and accidentally sending inappropriate messages to managers instead of loved ones and co-workers was one of the most frequent mistakes. 

Although only 5% of respondents had sent confidential information to the wrong person, anecdotal evidence also taken in the survey revealed that one such error resulted in the company's telephony and internet access being used by someone else at the organisation's expense. Nearly 16% of respondents said that they had clicked on an attachment or a link within an IM that had turned out to be malware. 42% of those said their current anti-virus protection did not catch it. 

Nearly three quarters of people surveyed could access social networking sites at work, but only two thirds said that their employer's policy allowed them, showing that adequate policy enforcement tools were not in place. The most popular sites by far that people used were LinkedIn and Facebook, with 33.1% of respondents saying they had the most friends on LinkedIn, compared with 32% that said real life friends topped their list.

"Enabling IM and other types of web 2.0 communication can bring great benefits to companies, but IT departments need to consider the risks involved and make sure that security, policy control and compliance are introduced as standard best practice," comments Nick Sears, VP EMEA of FaceTime Communications. "Although the survey highlights that many organisations have still not deployed adequate measures of control to protect itself from IM and social networking  misuse, it also shows that education amongst users should not be neglected either."