This Is Guernsey

WORKERS using social-networking sites could be putting their employers at risk by sharing confidential information, according to an IT boss.

Itex managing director Richard Parker said organisations needed to protect themselves from sites such as MySpace, Facebook (pictured) and Bebo.

A survey by technology and market researcher Forrester has found that 78% of companies were concerned about the risk of unsanctioned use of such sites. ‘Like any technology, there is always risk involved and businesses need to protect themselves,’ said Mr Parker. ‘If they don’t have adequate policies, they are open to abuse that could be costly.

‘Identity theft is the biggest risk. If you share information you have to be extremely careful.’

Social-networking sites have become increasingly popular.

MySpace logged 110m. users in January, up by 15% from the previous year, and Facebook more than 100m., up by 305%.

The latter’s UK audience has grown from a million users in January 2007 to 8.5m. in January 2008 – an unrivalled growth rate of 712% in a year.

Increasingly, it is the workforce of large corporations which make up the users.

According to Facebook, 30,000 Microsoft workers and 20,000 IBM employees are registered as such.

And according to a recent Yankee Group study, 86% of corporate workers regularly use a social-networking site in the workplace.

The development is costing businesses money.

Employment law firm Peninsula said 233m. hours were lost every month as a result of employees ‘wasting time’ on sites like Facebook.

This is estimated to cost firms more than £130m. a day.

According to the Yankee study, 35% of social networking users have reported that their IT departments have blocked access to sites while 65% said their actions had gone unchecked.

In Guernsey, Mr Parker said any attempt to deal with the issue should be based on individual circumstances.

‘You could allow access to the sites at certain times of the day, but that might not be very feasible for some firms. Or you could monitor individuals’ use.

‘I don’t think there is a prescriptive method because every business is different.

‘It’s really down to common sense more than anything else.’

There are some advantages of social-networking sites already being harnessed by the business world, added Mr Parker.

The 3D online virtual world, Second Life, allows users to create their own characters and even start their own businesses.

‘There are positive and negative sides to social networking. Sites like LinkedIn are specifically designed for business people and are very useful ways of sharing information and making contacts.

‘With Second Life you can have an online store and even conduct virtual meetings with colleagues all over the world.’