Employees are a major security risk, say IT pros

Almost a third of companies have suffered either data loss or a security breach because their employees use mobile technologies to work. This is according to a new report by Apricorn. The company polled 100 IT decision makers in the UK for the report.

Almost half (44 percent) expect mobile workers to expose their company’s data to risks of breaches and theft. Nearly half of respondents also agree that employees are the biggest security threat to their company.

As all of this is happening, companies are still confused, as most of them don’t know how to adequately enforce security policies. Many have "no viable strategies in place," the report says.

More than half said it is now too complicated to manage all of the technology their employees use, and a third (35 percent) complained the technology needed to secure mobile working is too expensive.

"Whilst data protection is not a straightforward task, companies (particularly those in the private sector) are trusted by their customers to follow basic best practices. Despite this, 38 per cent say they have no control over where company data goes and where it is stored. Organizational struggles with enforcing data protection regulations and compliance standards are putting confidential data at risk," says Jon Fielding, managing director, Apricorn EMEA.

"The repercussions associated with a data breach are huge, both in terms of financial and reputational damage. Regulations are put in place to protect the data, its owner and the company responsible for it," adds Fielding.

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