[September 06, 2011] One-third of UK firms block access to social networks Tweet Sep 06, 2011 (CORPORATE IT UPDATE via COMTEX) -- 6 September 2011 - Driven primarily by security concerns, nearly one-third of British companies have banned the use of social media websites in the workplace, the Financial Times reported, citing a study by Internet security group Clearswift. After a string of headline-grabbing hacker attacks, more companies are taking a dim view of employees using Facebook, Twitter and similar networks. Over the past year, the number of businesses blocking access to social networks grew by 20%, while 53% of managers had come to view their use during business hours as an area of concern. Despite their security jitters and the restrictions imposed on employees, UK companies are keen to employ social media as a channel for corporate communications. Some 31% of the survey respondents plan to invest more in social networking initiatives in the year ahead. Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]