Survey: Employee Use of Social Media Heightens Security Concerns

According to findings from the eighth annual "What Keeps Network Administrators Up At Night" survey commissioned by VanDyke Software and executed by Amplitude Research, increased complexities such as the use of social media and smartphones by employees are keeping network and systems administrators at enterprises busy — although more than half feel sufficiently budgeted and/or staffed to support current information security needs.

The proportion of network administrators "sleeping like a baby" reached a new low in 2011. When network administrators were asked, "What keeps you up at night?" 41 percent selected a "security breach to your network." When the same question was asked in each of seven prior years, between 27 and 39 percent had indicated that worries about a security breach to their network was "keeping them up at night." Meanwhile, according to the 2011 survey findings, "users" were keeping 40 percent of network administrators awake at night. In seven prior years, between 28 and 38 percent had selected "your users" when asked "What keeps you up at night?"

Smartphones and Social Media are Added Complexities to Manage

Approximately four-in-ten (42 percent) network administrators considered managing the security of employee smartphones to be "very important" or "extremely important" as compared to other security threats facing their organization. Only about half (49 percent) of network administrators were satisfied with the security of handheld devices (e.g., Palm, BlackBerry) at their organization — down significantly from 57 percent in 2010.

Approximately four-in-ten (42 percent) were "moderately concerned" to "extremely concerned" about the security threat associated with employee use of social media. The proportion "moderately concerned" to "extremely concerned" was similar in 2010 (40 percent). When network administrators were asked to explain in their own words what concerns them most about employee use of social media at their organization, the most common themes were viruses (19 percent), data/information leaks (19 percent), intrusion risk (19 percent), users not being careful (9 percent), Trojan horses/other malware (9 percent) and concerns about risks to privacy/user information (6 percent). In addition to concerns related to security, 21 percent complained about employees wasting time on social media instead of being productive at work.

Cloud Computing Adoption on the Rise

The adoption of cloud computing rose significantly in 2011 — 22 percent compared to 15 percent in 2010. Among those who have not already adopted cloud computing, many are currently considering it. In fact, those who have not adopted and are not considering cloud computing are in the minority, with the proportion in this group declining significantly from 38 percent in 2010 to 27 percent in 2011. However, survey findings showed that less than half of those who have adopted cloud computing rated it "very secure." An even smaller proportion of those who have not yet adopted cloud computing consider it "very secure." The findings signaled there is room to increase the proportion willing to consider cloud computing very secure, even though network administrators often consider cloud computing to be "somewhat" secure.

IT Security Budgets and Staffing Often Viewed as Adequate to Meet Needs

The proportion seeing any decrease in their IT security budget went from 33 percent in 2009 to 20 percent in 2010 to 15 percent in 2011. In contrast, the proportion seeing any increase in their IT security budget went from 15 percent in 2009 to 30 percent in 2010 to 34 percent in 2011. Thus, as of 2011, 34 percent are seeing an increase vs. 15 percent who are seeing a decrease in their IT security budget.

The proportion feeling their organization has budgeted sufficiently to support current information security needs was 58 percent in the 2011 survey. At the same time, though, 63 percent felt their organization is sufficiently staffed to support current information security needs.

Moreover, the proportion seeing an increase in the size of their IT security staff for 2011 was similar to the proportion seeing a decrease in the size of their IT security staff (15 vs. 14 percent, respectively).

Possible Link Between Government Spending and Enterprise IT Security Budgets

Current spending patterns by state and local governments appear to have impacted some organizations, with those who noticed reduced spending more likely to report reductions in IT security staffing, overall IT budgets, and IT security budgets than those not reporting reduced spending by state and local governments.

Approximately 1/4 (26 percent) of the respondents indicated that they are seeing less spending by state and local governments in areas directly related to their company's business operations, while only 15 percent were seeing more spending. Twenty percent of those who noticed reduced spending by state/local governments were also seeing a decrease in the size of their IT security staff. This was significantly higher than the 11 percent of all other respondents who were seeing a decrease in IT security staff.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Top Five Action Items to Elevate Your Data Security Posture Management and Secure Your Data

    October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and every year most tips for security hygiene and staying safe have not changed. We’ve seen them all – use strong passwords, deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA), be vigilant to spot phishing attacks, regularly update software and patch your systems. These are great recommended ongoing tips and are as relevant today as they’ve ever been. But times have changed and these best practices can no longer be the bare minimum. Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • XS4 Original+

    XS4 Original+

    The SALTO XS4 Original+ design is based on the same proven housing and mechanical mechanisms of the XS4 Original. The XS4 Original+, however, is embedded with SALTO’s BLUEnet real-time functionality and SVN-Flex capability that enables SALTO stand-alone smart XS4 Original+ locks to update user credentials directly at the door. Compatible with the array of SALTO platform solutions including SALTO Space data-on-card, SALTO KS Keys as a Service cloud-based access solution, and SALTO’s JustIn Mobile technology for digital keys. The XS4 Original+ also includes RFID Mifare DESFire, Bluetooth LE and NFC technology functionality. 3