IT sector news
Employers crack down on social networking
21/8/2009Web security company ScanSafe has published data showing that employers are gradually tightening the reins on which websites their staff can view and are increasingly choosing to block access to popular social networking sites.
An analysis of more than a billion web requests processed by ScanSafe each month found a 20% increase in the number of customers blocking social networking sites in the last six months.
76% of companies are blocking social networking and it is now a more popular category to block than weapons (75%), alcohol (64%), webmail (58%), online shopping (52%) and sports (51%). Surprisingly, less than half (47%) block online banking sites.
Social networking sites can expose businesses to malware and if not used for business purposes can be a drain on productivity and bandwidth.
ScanSafe points out that in the harsh economic climate it is more important than ever to ensure a productive workforce and that many companies now expect their employees to work harder for less. Restricting access to non-work-related sites is a way of fostering this much-needed productivity.
