Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
24th April 2024 Issue no. 702
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Confidential data loss in the UK continues to rise - How can we prevent it?
An investigation by Big Brother Watch this week unveiled 1,035 data-loss incidents across 132 local authorities in the UK since 2008*. Even scarier is the fact that 72% of UK companies admit to having lost confidential data through missing USBs, according to a new European study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and Kingston Technology.
Simply purchasing secure encrypted USB sticks is no longer enough. Public and private companies need to introduce best practice policies, procedures and awareness training for their staff before it is too late and they have another data loss scandal at hand. Global standards and strong privacy and data protection legislations need to be put in place and full enforcement ensured, including holding those liable at fault.
UK lags behind Europe in USB drive data security
Research reveals nearly two-thirds of European organisations have suffered the loss of confidential data due to missing USB flash drives
- 72% of UK companies admit to having lost confidential data through missing USBs
- 49% of organisations admit that the losses relate to customer data _
- UK, France and Poland have the highest rate of data breach as a result of missing USB drives
- Employees are also negligent of potential USB drive security issues, putting sensitive company data at risk.
Kingston Digital Europe Ltd, an affiliate of Kingston Technology Company Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, has announced the results of a study conducted by the Ponemon Institute in ten European countries to better understand how organisations manage the security and privacy requirements of data collected and retained on USB drives. The study confirms that many organisations are ignoring the risk of unencrypted USB drives and are not following through with appropriate USB security policies. The research also denotes marked differences in the approach and implementation of USB drive security from country to country.
The European study, an extension of an earlier study conducted in the United States, confirms the pressing need for organisations to adopt more secure USB products and policies. A total of 2,942 IT practitioners with an average of 10.75 years of IT or IT security experience in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland & the United Kingdom, were surveyed and all acknowledged the importance of USB drives from a productivity standpoint. In the UK, only 23 per cent of respondents confirmed that their companies have the technologies to prevent or quickly detect the download of confidential data onto USB drives by unauthorized individuals. The statistic shows most organisations in the UK are ignoring the risks of using unencrypted USB drives, resulting in 72 per cent of those questioned having suffered a loss of confidential or sensitive data because of missing USB drives in the last two years.
When comparing individual European countries, perceptions and practices about the importance of USB security is highest in Germany - with 62 per cent agreeing that their organisation has an adequate USB security policy in place to prevent employee misuse. On the contrary, the UK, France and Poland are most at risk as a result of employees' practices - 73 per cent in the UK, 85 per cent of respondents in France and 83 per cent in Poland say that employees use USB drives without obtaining advance permission to do so.
Evidence of widespread compromise is apparent:
- Across Europe, 75 per cent of respondents say employees in their companies are using USB drives without obtaining advance permission to do.
- A staggering 63 per cent of respondents confirmed employees lose USB drives without notifying appropriate authorities all the time or very frequently.
- France, UK and Poland have the highest rate of data breach as a result of a missing USB drives.
"At Kingston we believe a lack of oversight, education and corporate confusion are factors that lead to the overwhelming majority of data loss when it comes to USB Flash drives," said Jim Selby, European Product Marketing Manager at Kingston Technology. "Organisations fear that any attempt to control a device like a USB is likely to be futile and costly, both in terms of budget and loss of productivity. However, a simple analysis of what a company needs and the knowledge that there is a range of easy-to-use, cost-effective, secure USB Flash drive solutions can go a long way toward enabling organisations and their employees to get a handle on the issue."
"This survey has made it clear that attitudes toward USB security differ across Europe, but the overall findings underline how many organizations still lack rigorous and secure USB data protection policies, thus leaving a huge hole in corporate security strategies," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, CEO of the Ponemon Institute. "Rarely a month goes by without another 'confidential data lost on a USB drive' story being reported in the press, so we hope the results of our survey acts as a wake-up call for European organisations."Emilie Beneitez Lefebvre
Kingston Technology Europe Ltd
+44 (0) 1932 738813
[email protected]
14th December 2011