30% Of Company Directors Data Theives

September 18th, 2006: A recent Hummingbird/YouGov survey of UK executives has found that almost one third have pinched company data.

The survey canvassed 1,385 UK executives, reporting that 29 percent of directors admitted to pilfering confidential data when leaving old jobs, while 17 percent of managers admitted the same.

The survey also found that women were on the whole more honest than men, with 37 percent saying that they would never take confidential material from their employer as opposed to 25 percent of men.

The survey highlights the growing ease and instances of corporate data theft, with 67 percent of respondents saying that walking away with company data was so simple that it would be impractical to stop it.

Training documents and procedure manuals were cited as the most popular target for thieves, followed by financial information and client reports.

There are a number of solutions on the market to limit instances of data theft. Centennial Device Wall for one seeks to restrict the flow of data and the use of external storage devices such as flash drives, PDA’s and mp3 players, while IBM’s recently announced TS1120 encrypted tape drive secures archival data.

Are these solutions enough? Have you experienced data theft in your office? Tell us about it.