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2. Does Social Media
Pose a Security
Threat?

3. With the use of Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, and others on the rise, so
are many new potential security
threats to small to midsize businesses
working with these sites. As we all
know social media sites can grow our
SMB’s exposure and generate more
revenue for the company in some
cases.

4. Marketing on social media sites is a
must for all different types of
businesses, so shutting down access
to them in the workplace all together
in order to curb security risks is
impossible.

5. However since there are so many new
cases of accounts on Facebook,
Twitter, and other sites being hacked,
it is extremely easy for a user to click
on a link that a friend posted on their
wall and cause their computer to
become infected with a virus.

6. So now that we know that using social
media is essential these days for our
SMB to grow, how can SMB owners or IT
guys protect the security of the
company? Right now, Wedge Networks
is beefing up their content inspection
network to also monitor social media
and Web application traffic to prevent
viruses and other security risks

7. Wedge Networks CEO Hongwen Zhang
says that the “allow-or-block” paradigm
for social media is extremely
counterproductive in this technological
age.

8. “For SMBs to really have an iron-clad
security grasp–basically, banning social
media–is simply not possible,” Zhang
said in an interview.

9. That’s not to say that companies
should encourage the use of social
media in any shape or form. For
example employees shouldn’t be using
social media to tweet about their
lunch plans on the clock. This of course
should be something that CEOs should
include in their policies and
procedures manual.

10. Wedge Networks new BeSecure
feature will act as an online traffic cop
for social media sites to try and track
down malware and nip the problem in
the bud. Wedge Networks will monitor
the things coming in and out of social
media sites even if it is supposedly
coming from a safe source.

11. Think about how much time that is
going to save you as an IT guy.
According to an article on
InformationWeek:

12. “Rather than categorize sources as
“good” or “bad,” it takes a look at
what’s behind it–looking for
something like a recently injected
malicious script in an otherwise
“good” site. Likewise, the device
monitors outbound traffic for sensitive
data; administrators can enact policy-
based rules that look for particular
types or formats of information that
could pose a risk.”

13. The most difficult aspect of protecting
your computer from social media
security threats is that each individual
at a company sets up his or her own
security settings on their personal
desktops or laptops, this is why if
companies choose to use Wedge
Networks services, all computers that
are a part of your SMB can be easily
monitored.

14. While large companies can block social
media sites across the board, SMB’s
need the access to these sites for
exposure and marketing needs across
the board. Check out Wedge Networks
right here for more information.