More than half (61%) of IT decision makers in the UK see the security threat of staff use of social media as their biggest concern, according to new research by LANDesk Software, a global leader in PC lifecycle management, endpoint protection and IT service management.
The study found that IT departments are facing an uphill struggle to regain control of the way they enforce policy and practice within their organisations as they face a power struggle against increasingly digital-savvy employees.
“Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have changed the way we communicate with one another,” says Andy Baldin, VP EMEA, LANDesk.
“Today more end-users than ever are able to easily download software and manage the way they use IT.
“As a result, many employees see themselves as their ‘own IT Manager’, which has the potential to cause a number of problems for organisations.
“As applications evolve, end-users increasingly download new software add-ons, which can expose businesses to new security threats.”
Despite the fact that the majority of firms do have strict policies around the use of social media (73%) and internet downloads (89%) in place, the study showed that one in three were unsure that these were being adhered to.
Indeed, 55% of employees surveyed admitted to downloading software from the internet to a corporate computer.
