People 'should be more aware of social media risks'

15/07/2010

Everyone needs to be more aware of the potential information security risks posed by social media websites, it has been suggested.

"People just don't seem to take security seriously when they interact in the social media environment," David Bennett, director of consumer business development at Webroot software for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said.

The information security risk has shifted from viruses to information gathering through social media websites and apps, he said.

New research commissioned by Webroot revealed that 11 per cent of people surveyed said concerns surrounding privacy had led them to delete a social media account.

Mr Bennett warned that anything being posted on social media networks is "open to malicious code from hackers or certain sites".

This could potentially pose a risk to network security, particularly if the channel is being used in a work environment.

Recently, information commissioner Christopher Graham called on businesses and public bodies to be more open about how they use the personal information that they collect.

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