Fidelis spies data leakage via social networking sites

Fidelis Security Systems Tuesday announced it has added support for social networking sites to its data-leak prevention   equipment so that companies can monitor and block employee postings on sites than include Facebook and LinkedIn.

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"We're seeing a lot of business demand for social networking," says David Etue, vice president of product development at Fidelis. "So we’re adding the decoder, which some would call a protocol application analyzer, for the top social networking sites. This will let them set up specific DLP rules for social networking."

The Extrusion Prevention System 5.3 appliance will support Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo, Twitter, Orkut, Friendster, hi5, Ning and Badoo. (Compare DLP products.)  

"The analyzers give us the ability to understand what you're doing in the site," Etue says. Facebook, for example, has a chat function and an e-mail box, and allows third-party applications. The Fidelis DLP might be configured to restrict use of those applications or designate some parts of the site off-limits.

Monitoring capabilities can reveal if employees are violating DLP policies by attempting to post information that the company wants blocked. "Maybe there are upcoming layoffs or acquisitions," and a company might not want this information posted publicly, Etue says.

Extrusion Prevention System 5.3 starts at $25,000.