Top managers are more likely than rank-and-file workers to put their companies at risk for data breaches and theft of intellectual property, according to a recent nationwide study.
“On the Pulse: Information Security Risk in American Business” a survey of more than 750 information workers by digital security risk management firm Stroz Freidberg found that nearly nine in ten senior managers (87%) have sent work materials to personal e-mail or cloud accounts, making this information vulnerable to outsiders. What’s more, nearly three in five (58%) managers surveyed (58%) accidently sent sensitive material to the wrong person – compared to 25% of workers overall.
This risky behavior didn’t change when managers moved on. More than half of top management and more than one in three mid-level managers (37%) admitted to taking job-related emails, files, or confidential information with them after they left their employer. About one in five lower-ranking employees (20%) did so.
“Insiders are by far the biggest risk to the security of a company’s sensitive information, whether it’s a careless executive or a disgruntled employee,” say Stroz Friedberg CEO Michael Patsalos-Fox. More than half of senior managers (52%) in the survey stated that they had failed to meet their responsibility for protecting their companies against cyber risk.
Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) workplaces also open the doors to hackers, malware and viruses. Although improved internal communication and training can help mitigate this risk, only one in three workers (35%) at BYOD companies say that their employers trained them on mobile device security.
We’d be happy to recommend guidelines for a comprehensive review of potential chinks in your cybersecurity armor. Feel free to get in touch with us at any time.
