Facebook at Work: Benefit or Risk?

Social networking sites have been in the news a lot recently and all for positive reasons. Social media can be very beneficial to a company and its employees. However, recent evidence has shown that these sites may be more harmful than helpful.

According to a survey of almost 500 organizations, over half of the surveyed companies believe social networks put their business at risk. Sophos, the security software vendor responsible for the survey, reported that 57 percent of users admit to being spammed through a social networking site.

This is a problem not only because someone's personal information is easily accessible through social networks, but also the number of employees using social media for business is increasing at an alarming rate. The problem occurs when an employee's computer is sent malware, making it possible for someone outside the workplace to infiltrate the system and gain access to important files.

According to Sophos, 60 percent of the companies surveyed pinpoint Facebook as the riskiest social network. Keeping the statistics in mind, are social networking sites really the best way for companies to branch out? While proving to be effective among younger audiences, social media are now also proving that they aren't equipped with privacy settings necessary for the workplace. Until privacy is increased for users, reliance on social networks might have to be put on hold.