Email Fingered As Main Source Of Data Leaks

http://ow.ly/6EOxL

Article by Fahmida Y Rashid posted on eweekeurope.co.uk

This article discusses the fact that email was recently cited in a survey as the main source of data breaches.

The article states, "A recent Ponemon Institute report has blamed email systems as the main source of data leakage within an organisation.

In a survey of 830 information technology, security and compliance professionals, more than half of the respondents said improper email use by employees is the main cause of data leaks within the organisation, the Ponemon Institute said 20 September."

There is a link in the article to the study that is referenced.

The article goes on to further point out some interesting trends from the study, "Approximately 69 percent said employees have violated security policies and frequently send sensitive information through insecure email channels, and 60 percent use personal Webmail accounts to send corporate information, the survey found. About 63 percent believe employees mistakenly send confidential information to recipients outside the workplace.

In addition, 70 percent of the compliance and security professionals surveyed are concerned about data lost via email on mobile devices."

In addition, another very interesting, and concerning statistic is provided, "On average, 75 percent of an organisation’s intellectual property is in an email or an attachment, the researchers estimated."