Business systems could be 'endangered' by employees working on social networks

The increasing tendency for employees to use popular social networking websites for work purposes could put business IT infrastructure at risk, a security software firm has claimed.

According to figures from Sophos, there has been a substantial increase in the use of social networks for business purposes, which could make sensitive corporate information more vulnerable to hackers and cyber criminals.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for the organisation, said the risks could be heightened by the fact that many web users use the same passwords for multiple sites, including work-related access.

Mr Cluley said: "If hackers grab your password on one site, they can use it to unlock everything else about you. Chances are that you also use that password inside your company."

Broadband use is increasingly vital to business use, while application such as VoIP solutions can help reduce communications expenditure.

The potential vulnerabilities of social networking sites were revealed recently when it was discovered users' data and photos on Facebook could be accessed by hackers exploiting a major coding error.