IT contractors need to be aware of the threat posed by social media-specific malware, it is claimed.

The ability to reach out to customers, to find satisfied customers, to promote and drive campaigns and keep staff happy have been driving forces behind the normalisation of using sites like Facebook and Twitter at work.

This is the view of Rik Ferguson, solutions architect at malware software company Trend Micro.

He goes on to say that due to this shift, there are a growing number of social media campaigns designed specifically to spread malware.

"There's a risk that if you are not effectively screening http traffic as it comes into your organisation for malicious content, then this sort of thing could easily get through your perimeter," Mr Ferguson explained.

A recent global survey by Trend Micro found that nearly a quarter of employees surveyed now visit social networking sites while on the corporate network.