A recent report by indicates that social networking sites are the most blocked category of site by employers. That means more employers are blocking social networking than are blocking shopping and weapons sites.

This isn’t surprising given that employees spend roughly 20% of their time at work surfing the web for non-work-related activities, and those statistics are from 2006, when Facebook was still thought to be mostly for students rather than the global phenomenon it now is.

Also, social networking sites are the most common avenue for hacking attempts, with one in five hacking attempts occurring through social networking sites this year, according to the latest Web Hacking Incidents Database. The user-generated nature of web 2.0 sites such as social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter apparently allows greater opportunities for hackers in addition to greater opportunity for regular goofing off.

“Many companies still don’t fully comprehend the security risks that social networking sites and user-generated content can represent, so this report is certainly a wake-up call for them and highlights the need to address these issues as a key priority.”
— Nick Garlick, managing director of Nebulas Solutions Group

One thing is clear: social networking poses a threat to both productivity and network security in all companies who allow employees Internet access.

Filed under: Internet Safety News