Viruses are a threat. Denial of service attacks are scary. Your employees, however, are your biggest threat.
While 98% of Canadian business leaders and decision makers believe it is important for a company to secure sensitive data.
A recent Fusepoint/Sun Microsystems/Leger Marketing survey reveals that business leaders believe the greatest threat is not from a malicious external attack, but rather from the hands of an uninformed employee. The research showed that 46% percent of respondents said that employees who accidentally download security-compromising viruses, spyware or adware pose a greater data security risk to a company than external agents like hackers, cited next at 40%.
Of the 556 executive interviewed for the survey, 55% say that their confidential and private data is at risk of an attack, despite the fact that most consumers (58%) would immediately terminate their relationship with a company that compromised their personal information.
Poll results also showed that more than one in 10 Canadian consumers (14%) believe they have already been a victim of identity theft with 38% of respondents saying they know someone who has been a victim of identity theft. In addition, 74% of consumers believe that everybody – including those possessing advanced technological know-how – is at equal risk of identity theft.
“With the exponential growth in the volume and sophistication of online threats, executives must heed their customers’ calls to take the necessary steps to protect their data and infrastructure from being compromised,” said George Kerns, President and CEO, Fusepoint Managed Services. “This is not a simple business issue. It’s a fundamental matter of trust.”
“Smart enterprises know security and privacy are good for business, and yet many companies in
Another 14% believed the greatest threat would come from disgruntled employees who gain unauthorized access to information.
“The reality is that many businesses are operating under a false sense of security, as all too often we see corporate networks become compromised by an ‘igloo effect’ of sorts,” said Dr. Clemens Martin, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. “All it takes is one ill-advised employee to unknowingly compromise a network’s hard outer shell, and all other security measures in place could simply melt away.”
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