Fewer UK companies have policies to prevent
data leakage than those in the US and Germany according to
Trend Micro.
The security firm said only 48% of UK companies have data
leakage polices in its 2008 survey of corporate end users. This
compared with 57% in Germany and 54% in the US.
UK end users are also less likely to know what type of
information is confidential or to receive training on data policies
where they exist.
Only 57% of UK respondents said they had received training on
data policies, compared with 69% in the US and 66% in Germany.
Rik Ferguson, solutions architect at Trend Micro said the survey
showed organisations needed to improve user education, security
policies and access rights.
"A majority of leaks happen from within, either by accident or
by design, caused by valid users who have access to data within a
corporate network," he said.
According to Ferguson, enterprises need to carry out effective
identification and classification of information assets and
intellectual property.
"A risk assessment of what happens when that data is exposed
allows organisations to create an enforceable data security policy
and educate staff in the application of that policy," he said.