DURHAM, N.C. -- Some 38.6% of employers have suffered a major information technology disruption caused by staff visiting questionable and other nonwork related websites, GFI Software reported. Its study found that problems include work-issued hardware, resulting in malware infection and related issues.
The study also found that 35.8% of employees with access to a company computer would not hesitate to take company property including email archives, confidential documents and other valuable intellectual property from their work-owned computer before returning it were they to leave their companies.
And, 48% of those surveyed use a personal cloud-based file storage solution (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive, Box) to store and share company data and documents.
Key findings:
In addition to these findings, the survey found a substantial concern among employees over whether their employers were monitoring their computer use as well as a lack of understanding of employers do it and what devices can be monitored.
Some 36% they are concerned about their employers' ability to monitor their computer use, while nearly 70% think their employer can monitor use of an iOS, Android, or Windows-based tablet as easily as they can a conventional PC. However, almost one in five is unsure whether their employers can monitor a tablet.
"Data security and integrity is a big challenge for companies as a result of the widespread movement away from desktop computers to laptops. Since laptops are usually brought home, they frequently get used out-of-hours for both work and nonwork activities," said Sergio Galindo, general manager of GFI Software, in a prepared statement. "Without clear policies and guidelines in place on approved personal use boundaries – backed up with technology to limit access to the most challenging parts of the Internet -- the dividing line between work tool and personal device, can quickly become blurred.
"There are clear arguments in favor of letting staff use company computers for a degree of personal activity," he continued. "It's good for morale, productivity and it's just common sense. However, people still need to remember that it is not their device, and neither is the company data on it. It is surprising how many people forget that and our survey underscores just how true this is. You would not go racing around a track in a company car, even though they let you take it home for an evening and pay for the gas. The same principle applies to a company computer. Just because you can use it to access questionable content doesn't mean it is appropriate to do so."
The survey also asked users how comfortable they would be if their co-workers, or their friends and family, could see their personal browsing history, 19% would not want their family or colleagues to see their browser history or hard drive contents should they suddenly be incapacitated or die without an opportunity to sanitize their computer. This reaction highlights significant issues for users who need to return a company-owned device when they leave a job, or simply when it is time to replace it with a new model, Galindo said.
When asked what they would do to their computer first if their employment ended, 62% would make a grab for their personal files. More than one-third also would take company documents, including confidential data and customer lists, despite it being a blatant act of theft, raising significant concerns for employers over data security and compliance. However, 28.5% would simply walk away from their work device, not taking anything, including their own legitimate belongings, from the unit before handing it back.
"Data protection is a big problem and one that has been exacerbated by the casual use of cloud file sharing services that can't be centrally managed by IT," Galinda noted. "Content controls are critical in ensuring data does not leak outside the organization and doesn't expose the business to legal and regulatory compliance penalties. Furthermore, it is important that policies and training lay down clear rules on use and reinforce the ownership of data," Galindo added.
The survey discovered the top uses for work computers at work:
And uses while away from work:
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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