Blocked access
October 25, 2010
German companies are increasingly blocking employees from accessing social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, according to a report in the German business weekly Wirtschaftswoche.
Many of the top companies on Germany's Dax-30 index of blue-chip companies fear that the use of such sites places businesses at risk from industrial espionage and other security concerns, the magazine reveals in its Monday issue.
The report identified fears that, in addition to revealing business secrets in online chats, employees could expose computer networks to viruses by clicking onto site links.
A representative of Germany's second-biggest bank, Commerzbank, admitted that restrictions had been put in place for its employees.
"Many external social media sites are no longer available to most of our staff due to security concerns," the official said.
The construction materials firm HeidelbergCement has also stopped employees using the social networking site Facebook and micro-blogging site Twitter, while carmaker Volkswagen said "various social networks" had been banned.
Social sites 'now pose biggest threat'
Computer experts have identifying social network sites as posing the main threat to company IT systems.
"Before it was email that was the favorite gateway for damaging software - today it is social networks," said representative of anti-virus provider Kaspersky Christian Fuchs.
Other firms to introduce restrictions include luxury auto manufacturer Porsche, which has restricted Facebook use amid fears of industrial espionage.
Major utilities such as energy group E.ON and gas giant Linde have also curbed access to the video sharing site You Tube in some of their offices.
Other companies, such as car firm Daimler, cited concerns about employee productivity as an issue.
A study by the IT firm Clearswift revealed that 30 percent of German companies were worried that social networking sites would distract employees. However, some 56 percent of firms said that their main concern was security.
Author: Richard Connor (dpa/AFP)
Editor: Joanna Impey