Cisco releases report on data leakage risks

BANGALORE, INDIA: Cisco, a provider in networking solutions, today released a second set of findings from a global study on data leakage, revealing the prevalence and effectiveness of corporate security policies within companies and the reasons employees break or comply with them.

The study enables information technology teams in various parts of the world to understand employee risk factors so they can effectively tailor policies that fit the reality of what their users need to do their jobs, said a press release.

The latest security findings follow the first wave of research announced last month on common employee data leakage risks and mistakes around the world.

The findings on corporate security policies stem from surveys of more than 2,000 employees and IT professionals in 10 countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, India, Australia and Brazil.

InsightExpress, a U.S.-based market research firm, conducted the study that was commissioned by Cisco at a time when data loss is one of the most prominent concerns of businesses. “This study reinforces the need to revisit corporate security policy and how that policy is communicated,” said John N. Stewart, chief security officer for Cisco.

“By engaging with employees and understanding what they need to do their jobs, we can develop realistic policies that work more cohesively and effectively with corporate security, ultimately resulting in a more secure environment.”

The research suggested that policy awareness of employees showed that 1 in 4 companies lacked security policies.

“This decision employees make to either adhere to policies or sidestep them to complete their jobs presents a noteworthy challenge to IT,” said Marie Hattar, vice president of Network Systems and Security Solutions for Cisco.

He added that IT needs to reshape security policies to meet the real needs of businesses and employees, or they risk a policy breakdown and a greater risk for data loss and breaches.

According to the research, breaches affect more than just the companies in question. One of the more sobering findings is that of the IT respondents who dealt with employee policy violations, one in five reported that incidents resulted in lost customer data.