Cisco Security Study Points Finger at Employees

Employees could be to blame for one of the most prominent security concerns facing businesses today: Loss of corporate information. So say findings from a new Cisco global security study. The report offers insight into the risks employees take that could cause data leakage. The reason is clear: With the move toward distributed business models and remote workforces, lines are blurring between work and home lives. That's leading to more collaborative devices and applications, including mobile phones, laptops, Web 2.0 applications, video and other social media.

The takeaway: There are opportunities for businesses to tailor risk-management plans that prevent data-loss incidents locally while remaining global in scope. Cisco surveyed 1,000 employees and 1,000 IT professionals from various industries and company sizes in 10 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, India, Australia and Brazil.

"Security is ultimately rooted in users' behavior, so businesses of all sizes and employees in all professions need to understand how behavior affects the risk and reality of data loss -- and what that ultimately means for both the individual and enterprise," said John N. Stewart, chief security officer at Cisco.