Shifting working patterns and increased social network use are the two biggest headaches for IT managers, according to research by managed security company, Network Box. Fifty-nine per cent of IT managers surveyed said that remote working was one of their top priorities for the coming 12 months (ranking it between 8-10 on the survey, where 10 is ‘extremely important’ and 1 is ‘unimportant). Network Box surveyed 250 companies across all sectors.

When asked what the biggest single security concern is for IT managers, the top answer was ‘employees using applications on social networks’ while at work, with 43 per cent of respondents saying this is a major concern. In a separate question, 36 per cent of respondents are concerned about malware passed via networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter, and employees trusting (and clicking on) links sent by contacts within their networks.

Previous research by Network Box has shown that social networks – particularly those that stream video – are taking up an enormous amount of corporate bandwidth and so is presenting a real problem to businesses. Analysis of 19 billion URLs at the end of 2009 showed that accessing and downloading material from Facebook and YouTube when at work accounted for more corporate web activity and used bandwidth than any other sites. Nearly six per cent of all web traffic from business networks was to Facebook – higher than to any other website. Google was next in line, at 4.1 per cent. Nearly eight per cent of all corporate bandwidth was taken up downloading YouTube videos.

Today’s survey results also reveal that employees are not always following corporate policies on what they can and can’t download – 56 per cent of IT managers surveyed said that employees download unapproved applications without referring to the IT team. This can lead to employees installing infected applications which can open a ‘back door’ into the organization’s network which hackers can exploit.For more information on this, see Network Box’s guide to application management (this and other guides are available free from http://www.network-box.co.uk/resources/white-papers).

Simon Heron, internet security analyst for Network Box, says: “We know that there is sometimes a business case for using social networks at work, but the sheer volume of traffic implies that they are being used for personal as well as work reasons. Whatever the reason, social network use is increasing, so businesses must learn to cope with it. Part of the solution is to set clear guidelines on the use of networks, and part is to educate employees on their responsibility to stay secure, and not click on links they’re not sure about.

“A worryingly high number of employees are downloading applications that are not checked by the IT department. IT managers should put systems in place to prevent employees from doing this. Unauthorised applications present a clear security threat to companies and can lead to a reduction in productivity.”

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