More than half of UK businesses have a pernicious strain
of 'C-drive syndrome', making them vulnerable to security and
compliance complications.
Storing sensitive data such as financial reports or customer
contact details on the C drive of laptops or PCs can lay firms open
to theft, warns the survey by Star Technology.
It also hinders the sharing of information between colleagues,
potentially limiting company growth.
The problem is particularly acute in smaller companies, who tend
to ignore the potential consequences. Less than half of small
firms’ IT staff are concerned about security compared to two-thirds
in larger businesses. Similarly smaller firms are far less bothered
by the compliance implications of having little control over
business-critical information.
Dave Haines, IT manager at Business Link Gloucestershire, says
this is a familiar headache for IT staff in small businesses. “Our
staff are encouraged to save all data on network drives, but an
outright ban on using C drives and making it impossible for
employees to access them may be the only real solution to the
problem,” he says.
