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70% of UK employees believe they are underprepared for their company’s digital journey ahead, finds a recent Sungard AS survey
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Control access: make it clear who can use social media at work and especially who has access to the organisation’s social media channels
SOCIAL MEDIA
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Social media’s scarier business risks
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By DeeDee Doke A known target for rogue employees and criminal hackers, social media can look like a portal to peril, so should businesses continue to use it? ‘Yes’ is the answer from Ross Thomson, principal consultant of cyber security firm Amethyst Risk – but with some caveats. “The threat can come from many quarters,” said Thomson. Some of the scarier security risks for businesses include the posting of inappropriate content that leads to reputational damage or even legal corporate liability. Hackers can hijack
accounts, and social media is a way that identity thieves can swot up on their victims. For example, employees with a top-secret security clearance and work at a nuclear weapons facility should not post about it on social media. First, suggested Thomson, take stock of the vulnerabilities. For instance, a business’s social media channels may have insufficient privacy settings in place. That may also be true of key individuals within the business, for example your directors’ personal LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter profiles. “Use strong passwords,” Thomson suggested. He then outlined six further areas for attention (see column, right).
Policy: Have an “acceptable use” policy so employees know for what purposes they can use social media at work, and what would be unacceptable Content: Control publication of content on your social media channels – ensure the marketing team are properly trained to create your social media output and manage your social media channels
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Privacy: Review privacy settings across your business’s social media profiles and pages
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Train people: ensure everyone is aware of the dangers
Have good IT hygiene: make sure Windows or other operating systems are up to date, install security patches for your OS and third party applications such as Adobe and Java.
T E C H N O LO GY
UK employees feel lost on digital journey By DeeDee Doke Around 70% of UK employees believe they are underprepared for their company’s digital journey ahead – a situation that could pose serious business risks for upcoming challenges such as Brexit and the soon-tobe implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to
of employees said they understand completely, while another 50% said they do not understand at all. “Considering that employees are often the weak link in an organisation’s security chain, this lack of understanding about their roles and responsibilities when it comes to security compliance should serve as a wake-up call to businesses,” a
new research by Sungard Availability Services. The Digital Compass research also found that only 32% of employees polled feel like they are being kept up to date with their employer’s digital roadmap. When asked about their understanding of the changes that will come into force as a result of the GDPR, only 3%
Sungard AS statement said. Conducted by technology market research firm Opinium on Sungard AS’s behalf, the research involved interviews last October with 300 employees in middle management positions and below, 150 ICT decision makers and 150 line of business decision makers, all in companies of 500+ employees in the UK.
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