Education and security 'key to addressing social media risk'

The potential risk to organizations posed by social media can be tackled using a combination of technology and education, it has been claimed.

According to the Country Manager for the UK and Sweden at Panda Security, using solutions such as anti-malware scanners should be combined with policies to ensure staff members are aware of the information they are permitted to put on the internet.

Sebastian Zabala explained that social networking websites such as Facebook could pose a risk to businesses as data posted by employees on such portals could be used by those planning cyber attacks.

He added: "The staff need to know that the information they put on their Facebook pages needs to comply with company policy."

Mr Zabala noted that details posted on the internet are "never private" and can be used against companies and individuals.

His remarks come in the wake of reports that some German firms have chosen to block access by employees to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook over security concerns.

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