By ninemsn staff
Facebook is a "vital tool for productivity" for Australian businesses, a leading Internet authority says.
Ross Dawson says claims that websites such as Facebook are timewasters is irresponsible and contradicts actual business practice.
This flies in the face of findings by internet security firm SurfControl Technology that suggests an average of one hour is being lost to the "underground intranet", costing an employer more than $6200 annually.
Projected across the 800,000 businesses in Australia that operate with one or more employees, the nationwide figure totals productivity losses of more than $5 billion.
Dawson says many major companies such as Deloitte, IBM and Procter & Gamble actively encourage their employees to use social networks.
Research from Harvard and M.I.T. also shows an employee's personal network is a one of their most valuable assets and can make a big contribution to a company.
But businesses are also facing legal liabilities and cyber attacks with the increasing use of Facebook, said Richard Cullen of SurfControl.
"Hackers will no doubt be targeting Facebook as an attack mechanism because of (its) popularity and power as a platform," Dr Cullen said.
"It's only a matter of time before a security loophole is discovered and exploited."
There are more than 230,000 users of Facebook across the country, and there are reportedly close to 100 Australians joining each hour.
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