Survey Findings Reveal 'Viruses,' 'Intrusions' Top List of Security Threats Network Administrators See from Employee Use of Social Media via the Company Network

BOCA RATON, Fla. and ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- According to findings from the seventh annual "What Keeps Network Administrators Up at Night" survey of 353 network administrators commissioned by VanDyke Software® and executed by Amplitude Research®, four-in-ten (40%) were either "extremely concerned" (18%) or "moderately concerned" (22%) with employee use of social media being a security threat to their company.  Only 12% were "not at all concerned," while 22% were "slightly concerned" and 26% "somewhat concerned."

When asked in an open-ended manner, "What concerns you most about employee use of social media at your company?" network administrators mentioned viruses (22%), unproductive / time wasted (21%), security / intrusion risk (19%), data / information leaks (16%), privacy issues (7%), malware (5%), and bandwidth usage (4%).

Percentage "Kept Up at Night" About Security Breaches Jumps in 2010

This year's survey, conducted the second and third weeks of April, found that nearly four-in-ten (39%) of the network administrators were "kept up at night" worrying about a security breach to their network in 2010, which was significantly higher than in 2009 (27%).  Those "moderately concerned" to "extremely concerned" with employee use of social media were more likely than others to be "kept up at night" worrying about a security breach to their network, their users, the next virus, and/or a security breach to their website.  For example, among those "moderately" to "extremely" concerned with employee use of social media as a security threat to their organization, 50% were "kept awake at night" worrying about a security breach to their network.  In contrast, among those "slightly" to "somewhat" concerned about employee use of social media, 35% were "kept awake at night" by worrying about a security breach to their network.  Among those "not at all concerned" about employee use of social media, only 16% lied awake at night worrying about a breach to their network.

Said Steve Birnkrant, CEO of Amplitude Research, "Of course, there are many possible reasons for worrying about a breach to their network, and we are not saying that there is necessarily a primary causal relationship between employee use of social media and network breaches.  But the results do indicate a statistically significant relationship between how concerned network administrators are about employee use of social media and how worried they are about a security breach to their network.  This suggests that organizations might want to carefully consider the potential security risks related to employee use of social media."

Only 15% Report that Employees Have No Access to Social Media via the Company Network

According to the findings of this year's survey, more than one-third (37%) reported that their organization allows employees unlimited access to social media when using the company network.  Nearly half (48%) allow employees "limited" access.  This leaves only 15% of the organizations represented by network administrators in this survey where employees have no access to social media via the company network.

"An interesting finding is that lack of access or limited access to social media via the company network did not reduce the proportion of network administrators at least 'moderately concerned' about security threats related to employee use of social media," commented Amplitude Research's Birnkrant.  "More than half (56%) indicated that their organization has a formal policy regarding employee use of social media.  However, those with such a policy were at least as likely as others to be 'moderately' or 'extremely' concerned about employee use of social media."

Network Administrators Have Security Management of Smart Phones on Their Minds

A new survey question in 2010 asked network administrators about "smart phones" and security threats to their company.  Overall, 9% gave an "extremely important" rating and 32% gave a "very important" rating for managing the security of employee smart phones, as compared to other security threats facing their company.

Said Amplitude Research's Birnkrant: "While social media might be a 'dream come true' for many users, it can create significant security concerns for network administrators.  The results also indicate a strong correlation between employee use of social media and smart phones, with network administrators often attaching similar importance to both as security threats."

The 2010 study was commissioned by VanDyke Software and conducted online by Amplitude Research during the second and third week of April among nationwide IT web panelists.  In total, 353 surveys were completed by respondents who confirmed working as a "network or systems administrator" for their company / organization, with a maximum sampling margin of error of 5.2% at the 95% confidence level.  To obtain an executive summary of the 2010 survey results, contact Michael Krems of Krems Public Relations at krems@kremspr.com.

About Amplitude Research, Inc.

Amplitude Research® is a privately owned online survey company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.  Amplitude specializes in online market research, combining its proprietary market research software, top quality survey panels www.panelspeak.com) and experienced professional services to deliver actionable survey results.  The name "Amplitude" Research and its tagline "loud and clear" signify Amplitude's high-quality survey design, survey administration, data analysis and reporting services tailored to each client's needs.  For more information about Amplitude Research and its consumer / b2b market research surveys, visit the company's website at www.amplituderesearch.com.

About VanDyke Software, Inc.

Busy IT professionals depend on VanDyke Software® to deliver rock-solid, easy-to-configure software for secure remote access, secure file transfer, terminal emulation, and remote administration.  VanDyke offers a fully-supported 30-day evaluation of its products prior to purchase, providing both evaluators and customers with a higher level of service.  The company's product offerings include the SecureCRT® Secure Shell terminal emulator, the SecureFX® secure file transfer client, the VanDyke ClientPack, and the VShell® Secure Shell server. For more information about VanDyke Software, visit the company's website at www.vandyke.com.

SOURCE VanDyke Software, Inc.