Data Leaks - An Inside Job
November 16, 2008 by Antivirus Ware.comCompanies being betrayed by their own employees are more of a threat to security than outsiders. IT professional around the world were surveyed and it revealed a frightening statistic. It seems the outside forces are not as much of a threat as the insiders. There is more and more personal use of company assets which increases inside leaking activity. It is thought that the use of iPods and USB devices are aiding the inside attempts to provide leaks. Often, it isn’t a matter of malicious intent by the employees, but lack of diligence. Information can easily be lost or stolen, however a surprising 1 in 10 employees interviewed in the Survey admitted to stealing and selling Data.
InsightExpress, a U.S based marketing research firm conducted the survey. It involved 1,000 employees and 1,000 IT professionals. It was a global survey conducted in 10 countries. The reason that most think the leaks are non-malicious is that often, the only computer at home is a device provided in the work setting. Through allowing children to access Web 2.0 programs with the devices, there is an increased chance of information leaks.
Surely education and security issues must be addressed. Internet security or any kind of a breach is a major problem and whether malicious or not, leaks must be stopped. There is too much information among IT employees and professionals to allow for careless handling. Since it is a world-wide problem, it must be addressed on the global level. Security in one or two countries is not enough. Wherever there are leaks, lives can be ruined.
