Survey shows slapdash staff risk corporate data
11th December 2007
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Workers' reliance on corporate data conflicts with their
neglect of company resources
London, 11 December, 2007 - A survey carried by
Databaracks with UK office workers has revealed that employees
are hugely reliant on access to network data to do their jobs, yet
show an alarming apathy about the value of that data.
· Data dependent: Workers are so dependent on
corporate data that 84% felt they couldn't do their job for more
than half a day if they lost access to it, whilst 43% felt they
could not cope for any period without access
· Recreational risk: More than half (57%) have
at some point lost an office work laptop/blackberry/USB stick, with
the most common loss location being a pub, bar or restaurant
· Personal priorities:More than three-quarters
(77%) admitted storing personal content such as photos on their
office network or PC, putting obvious strain on company resources
as well as increasing the risk of malware infection. Meanwhile, the
same number (77%) wouldprioritise their personal mobile phone over
their work PC if both were on fire, clearly valuing personal over
corporate data
· Loss liabilities:Companies are massively
exposed to human error. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents have
accidentally deleted data on the networks, whilst 69% admitted to
saving more than 10 important work files on their PCs alone,
causing major potential disruption if they were stolen or
damaged
· Neglecting nature:Many employees are
neglecting their 'carbon footprint', with 24% stating they never
switch off their PC at close of business and 23% only sometimes.
More than half (55%) of respondents also feel their company should
plan better for environmental incidents, such as the floods that
took place earlier this year
Peter Groucutt, MD of Databarracks, commented: "This research
paints a frightening picture for UK organisations. Almost every
business, irrelevant of sector, is reliant on the information
stored on its IT network to manage day-to-day operations. This
dependence makes it critical for organisations and their employees
to protect their network information, yet our survey shows
carelessness and even negligence among many respondents, who have a
haphazard view of how corporate data should be handled.
"Whilst employees can be educated to treat corporate data more
carefully, human error will always be a factor, so this is not a
problem that is going to disappear overnight. In
addition,organisations have a myriad of different applications to
protect, and data retention and archiving regulations to comply
with. More organisations have to start seriously considering secure
online backup to protect themselves from unforeseen events."