Security news
Security news29 October 2007
One in seven brings their Facebook addiction to work, Sophos research reveals 14.8 percent of Facebook users admit to all-day loafing
IT security and control firm Sophos has revealed the results of a new survey examining the potential productivity implications for businesses that allow their employees to access Facebook during office hours.
Sophos polled 500 Facebook users to find out how often they accessed or checked the popular social networking site from work, and found that while 37.2 percent only visited the site once or twice a day, eight percent admitted using it up to ten times a day, and an astonishing 14.8 percent, approximately one in seven, confessed to being logged onto Facebook almost permanently during their working day.
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How often do you access or check Facebook from work?
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| Once or twice a day |
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| Up to ten times a day |
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| Virtually all the time! |
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| I only access Facebook from home, never at work |
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Sophos online survey, 500 respondents, September and October 2007.
"The results show that more than one fifth of these Facebook users are actually Facebook abusers. They're seriously struggling to tear themselves away from the website when they should be concentrating on their jobs - disturbing news for all organizations that are still allowing employees uncontrolled access," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "Several trade unions have spoken out in the site's defense, suggesting that employers should put more trust in their workforce, and clearly the majority of people are using the site in moderation. The problem is that a 20 percent addiction rate equates to an awful lot of loafing, while there's also the likelihood that the abusers could ruin it for the other rule-abiding users."
According to Sophos, the survey results add weight to growing fears that sites such as Facebook are having a hugely detrimental impact on business productivity. Employment law firm Peninsula recently estimated that 233 million hours are lost every month in the UK alone as a result of employees using social networking sites. Sophos notes that Lloyds TSB, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs are amongst the organizations that have been reported to have already blocked access to Facebook for their users.
"So far there seems to have been a furore at every organisation that has decided to block Facebook access, but there's a real danger that if companies don't take action, this problem could spiral further out of control," continued Cluley. "Many companies are now aware that Facebook brings with it a series of security concerns, particularly the risk of employees inadvertently revealing sensitive or confidential information to the wider world. When combined with the threat of an accompanying productivity slump, they may well decide that social-networking at work is simply more trouble than it's worth."
- Hot topic: Facebook - The privacy and productivity challenge
- Read Sophos's best practice tips for how to secure your online identity on Facebook
- Learn how to block websites with Sophos Web Security and Control
- 50% of employees blocked from accessing Facebook at work
- Download a Sophos podcast about Facebook and online privacy
Simply click on the arrow above to stream the podcast through your browser. Alternatively you can download it to your MP3 player.
Sophos recommends companies protect themselves with a consolidated solution which can control network access and defend against the threats of spam, hackers, spyware and viruses.
Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that this poll is not scientific and is provided for information purposes only. Sophos makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the results other than that they reflect the choices of the users who participated.
Do you know how many employees are running virtualisation software on their PCs?
About Sophos
Sophos enables enterprises all over the world to secure and control their IT infrastructure. Sophos's network access control, endpoint, web and email solutions simplify security to provide integrated defenses against malware, spyware, intrusions, unwanted applications, spam, policy abuse, data leakage and compliance drift. With over 20 years of experience, Sophos protects over 100 million users in nearly 150 countries with its reliably engineered security solutions and services. Recognized for its high level of customer satisfaction and powerful yet easy-to-use solutions, Sophos has received many industry awards, as well as positive reviews and certifications.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com
