Financial services workers are the worst offenders when it comes to putting confidential professional documents and data at risk, new research has suggested.
A survey of 2,000 UK employees commissioned by IT provider Proband revealed that attitudes to confidentiality and cyber security are “worryingly relaxed”, with 81 per cent of financial services workers admitting to using personal technology to freely access work documents.
The research also found that more than half (52 per cent) of workers access their work emails on an unsecure personal device such as a mobile phone or laptop, meaning many are running the risk of leaking confidential business communications.
Relaxed attitudes towards digital security also mean that 35 per cent of workers have professional documents stored on gadgets which are not password protected.
Those working in the financial services industry were followed by legal industry workers (79 per cent) and those in the education sector (76 per cent) as the worst offending employees, putting sensitive client information at risk by using personal gadgets for professional communication.
Proband’s marketing director Matt Royle said: “Relaxed attitudes to security and the trend for mobile working, which often sees sensitive, business-critical data reviewed on personal mobile devices, can present a risk to data being ‘leaked’ or accessed by others. This is especially the case if the device is connected to an unsecure wireless network.
“Financial service workers must be mindful and act to protect data at all costs, before putting their business or others’ information at risk.
“New legislation coming into place next year will mean there are even larger fines for companies not abiding by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with stricter policies on the processing and handling of data and documents.
“The message is, get your security in order and equip your business for greater data protection and health.”