SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




An Alternative for Businesses Facing Social Networking Security Breaches
» More Security Feature Articles

Security Featured Article


August 11, 2009

An Alternative for Businesses Facing Social Networking Security Breaches

By Richard Watson, Director of Product Management


Given my recent blog about being a Twitter Quitter, it’s easy for me to understand why certain organizations – the NFL, ESPN (News - Alert) and the Marine Corps to name a few – have suddenly soured on consumer Social Networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.

 



To name a few recent Social Networking-banning events:
 



  • Wired reports, “The U.S. Marine Corps has banned Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media sites from its networks, effective immediately.”
     
  • The New York Times reports, “The N.F.L. has identified the enemy and it is Twitter.”
     
  • The New York Times also reports that ESPN is limiting Social Networking after issuing a list of “12 guidelines to its employees about social networking.”

The ticklish issue common to each of these organizations is a matter of information containment: Blasting out your “Status” worldwide is one thing. But when that status message reveals competitive secrets – or threatens national security – the fun and games are over.

Or so says the hyper-sensitive Marine Corps about the Social Networking trend: “The very nature of SNS (social network sites0 creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC (operational security), COMSEC (communications security), (and) personnel... at an elevated risk of compromise."

But not all Social Networking tools are created equal.

While Twitter and Facebook are ideal for consumer use (and hence information security breaches), Enterprise Social Networking included in DiVitas (News - Alert) Mobile UC is appropriate – and secure – for the workplace. Organizations deploying DiVitas enjoy the benefit of business voice (deskphone) combined with Social Networking (Presence, IM and Status message) and placed onto a smartphone – without sacrificing information security.

By limiting access to a specific, and secure, group of people (colleagues within your organization), Mobile UC lets organizations take advantage of the real-time communication benefits provided by social networking without the risk of accidentally leaking sensitive information to the masses. 

In short, the enterprise defines the walls of the social networking community.   

Translation: If the troops were to use Mobile UC instead of Twitter or Facebook (News - Alert) for Social Networking, the Marine Corps could set aside fears of security breaches. Same goes with the NFL and ESPN – those Status blasts would only be shared with colleagues within the organization.  At the same time, individuals in the organization are able to take advantage of the collaboration and sharing offered by social media.

Addressing the need for Enterprise Social Networking, Mobile UC:
 
  • Uses Presence to broadcast your status to your entire network. One glance at the directory displayed on your phone and you can see who is available (by voice and/or text) or unavailable at any given moment.
     
  • Has a customizable Status message to broadcast exactly what you are doing at a given moment – a must-have when you need to know if a colleague is reachable. Personal Status messages such as “in a foxhole”, or, “about to take an ice bath for my knee injury” speak volumes when you need to let colleagues know your whereabouts.
     
  • Enables Instant Messaging (IM) so that colleagues can discreetly send each other brief text messages when a voice conversation isn’t appropriate, convenient or necessary.

The Marine Corps, ESPN and the NFL are just a few samples of the many organizations finding themselves squeezed between end user desire to share information, and the business need to contain the unfettered spread of that information.

In fact, Researcher Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) recently looked into the relationship between Social Networking and enterprises. And their report 2009 Corporate Use of Social Networking, which addressed applications such as Facebook and Twitter, highlights the need for Enterprise Social Networking.
 
The vast majority (80 percent) of survey respondents report that they personally use Web 2.0 technologies to connect and share with friends and family while at work.
 
More than half of all respondents (54 percent) reported that they use Web 2.0 technologies for professional purposes such as connecting with colleagues, generating leads and collaborating on projects.

The bottom line is any organization – sports, military, news outlets, businesses, etc. – can enjoy the collaborative benefits of Enterprise Social Networking, without sacrificing security. They simply need to ignore consumer tools such as Twitter and Facebook, and instead rely on Mobile UC to contain the flow of Status info.

I’m a Twitter Quitter, but a big fan of Enterprise Social Networking.
 

Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.


Follow ITEXPO (News - Alert) on Twitter: twitter.com/itexpo

Richard Watson, Director of Product Management at DiVitas, writes the Unified Communications Mobilized column for TMCnet. To read more of Richard's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michael Dinan


» More Security Feature Articles







Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy