Survey: Workers Say It’s Easy to Steal Data

Nearly half of workers surveyed in a new study say it would be easy, if not extremely easy, to steal sensitive data from their corporate databases.

The survey also shows that internal violations of data security policies may be putting consumers at an increased risk of identity theft. The study was done by Harris Interactive, surveying employees and managers with access to sensitive customer information.

”Companies can’t afford to lose their customers’ trust by putting sensitive customer information at risk,” says Joseph Ansanelli, CEO of Vontu, a security solutions company that commissioned the study. ”Workers need access to data and electronic communication tools to do their jobs and serve customers. Yet with the ever-increasing cases of identity theft, companies must accurately ensure that a customer’s information is not being inappropriately sent outside the company.”

And the workers surveyed don’t even trust each other.

The study, which surveyed more than 500 U.S. workers in May of this year, shows that 66 percent say their co-workers, not hackers, pose the greatest threat. And 40 percent classified the security level of their corporate databases as somewhere between ‘not at all secure’ and ‘secure’.

Having a security policy doesn’t ensure a company of security — especially of workers aren’t even aware of it.

The survey shows that 32 percent are unaware of internal company policies protecting customer data. And 28 percent of managers say they did not have or did not know if their company has a written security policy.