According to new research small businesses are putting their security into jeopardy because of a lack of awareness of threats to their IT

Internet services company Eclipse Internet carried out the survey, contacting over 1,300 small businesses. It found that over half of those surveyed were not aware of a computer virus called Koobface that targets Facebook & of the potential threat this posed for their businesses.

Only thirty per cent of businesses involved in the research realized that the virus was a potential threat to them Fifty two per cent of the participating firms thought that Koobface was a social networking site, & a further thirteen per cent thought it was a character from a children’s television programme.

Koobface targets the users of social networking sites - Facebook - of which its name is an anagram - Twitter, Bebo, Friendster & MySpace. Designed to designed to infect Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X it is reported that the operators of this scheme have generated over $2 million in revenue from June 2009 to June 2010

According to Wikipedia:  ‘Koobface spreads by delivering Facebook messages to people who are ‘friends’ of a Facebook user whose computer has already been infected. Upon receipt, the message directs the recipients to a third-party website, where they are prompted to download what is purported to be an update of the Adobe Flash player. If they download and execute the file, Koobface is able to infect their system. It can then commandeer the computer’s search engine use and direct it to contaminated websites. There can also be links to the third-party website on the Facebook wall of the friend the message came from sometimes having comments like LOL or YOUTUBE. If the link is opened the trojan virus will infect the computer and the PC will become a Zombie or Host Computer’

Speaking about the need for businesses to be vigilant in protecting data Eclipse Internet director, Clodagh Murphy stated:

“With more and more users logging onto Facebook at work, it is imperative that all businesses are mindful about the impact threats such as the Koobface worm could have on their day–to–day business operations.”

“As small–business owners, you should analyse online and operating systems to determine the areas most at risk. For example, is an organisation’s customer data, internal accounting information or other sensitive data linked to the internet? In order to create a culture of security, small businesses must demonstrate to employees and customers that cyberfraud is a concern you take seriously.”

Our Random Articles

• Small businesses plan staff cuts in early 2012
• Unemployment rise – what does this mean for small businesses?
• The Mary Portas Review
• SMEs Unprepared for New Pension Reforms
• Backdated Energy Bills Hit SMEs

More Links