Businesses should welcome the use of social networks but ensure policies are in place to protect company equipment, according to virus IT staff at DriveSentry.
The rapid growth in popularity of sites such as Facebook and MySpace has meant that many organisations are attempting to add them to their ‘banned sites’ list. But even that will do little to protect against malicious use in the era of ‘hyperconnection’, according to John Safa, Chief Technology Officer at DriveSentry.
“The use of social networks in combination with flexible working policies and ubiquitous broadband connectivity will see many more viruses slipping through the net of traditional anti-virus products,” said John. “Users are now hyperconnected, and as a result the number of opportunities for malware to be unwittingly downloaded has grown exponentially.”
DriveSentry, which reports that it has developed a tool to catch viruses before they are unleashed on a computer hard drive, is calling for businesses to educate employees on the use of social networking sites – including while at home – via the corporate IT policy.
“Social networking sites should not be completely restricted as they are becoming a valuable tool in business communication,” added John. “But the ability for these applications to share content, and circumnavigate network protection, is more powerful than many people realise. For that reason, it’s critical that companies take steps to protect themselves – but banning them altogether could be counter-productive.”
About DriveSentry Inc
DriveSentry provides software-based firewalls for hard drives that protect digital assets and personal data, with offices in California and Nottingham.
