Businesses clamp down on social media amid security fears

There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of enterprises blocking access to social media sites compared with this time last year, according to a report from software security company Clearswift.

The report, which was conducted by research consultancy Loudhouse on behalf of Clearswift, attributed the clampdown to a number of recent high-profile data breaches.

It said that some 53 per cent of managers identify social media use as an issue of concern at management level, with 57 per cent of managers believing that employees are oblivious to security concerns.

On the other hand, 48 per cent of companies are convinced that the benefits of social media outweigh any negatives and 31 per cent of companies are even increasing investment in social media this year.

Clearswift's chief operating officer, Andrew Wyatt, said: "Rather than embracing new channels of communication, companies have become defensive, which is stifling growth.

"However, the research also provides evidence that businesses do recognise the importance of new technologies, which leads me to believe that this is a knee-jerk reaction rather than a long-term trend."