SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Cisco's 2010 Midyear Security Report finds that the increasing use of social networking, the proliferation of network-connected mobile devices, and virtualization, continue to alter the security landscape and company policies are beings ignored to a great extent.

Fifty percent of end users admitted that they ignore company policies prohibiting the use of social media tools at least once a week, and 27 percent said they change the settings on corporate devices to access prohibited applications.  

The report adds that cybercriminals are believed to be developing ways to deliver malware via social networking sites such as Facebook, especially through its games.

Cisco Security Intelligence Operations research found that seven percent of a global sample of users accessing Facebook spend an average of 68 minutes per day playing the popular FarmVille. Mafia Wars was the second most popular game, with five percent of users each racking up 52 minutes of play daily, while Cafe World, played by four percent of users, accounted for 36 minutes of wasted time per day.

Cisco says that businesses must change their mindset on security to help ensure that their networks and vital corporate information are protected from evolving security threats.

Enterprise professionals must act immediately to put effective security practices into place in order to protect their companies' reputation and maintain a competitive edge. The report outlines five recommendations for improving corporate security.

Enforce granular per-user policies for access to applications and data on virtualized systems.
Set strict limits for access to business data.
Create a formal corporate policy for mobility.
Invest in tools to manage and monitor cloud activities.
Provide employees with guidance on the use of social media in the workplace.

Spam continuing to rise
Despite recent disruptions to criminal spam operations, in 2010 the worldwide volume of spam is expected to grow by as much as 30 percent over 2009 levels.

The United States is once again the country where the largest amount of spam originates, pushing Brazil to third place. India currently ranks second, and Russia and South Korea round out the top five.

Brazil experienced a 4.3 percent decrease in the amount of spam originating in-country, most likely because more ISPs in that country are limiting Port 25 access.

Cybercriminals remain intent on targeting legitimate websites but are launching strategically timed, multivector spam attacks with a focus on establishing keyloggers, back doors and bots.