Employees Expose Sensitive Data Outside the Workplace

Workers expose company data beyond the workplace, including very sensitive information. Typically, the employee has no idea how risky this is. It’s as easy as the crook capturing data, that’s displayed on a screen, with a smartphone camera as he passes by or secretly looks on continuously from nearby.

And there’s little corporate policy in place to guard against this. Many professional employees admitted their company lacked any explicit policy on conducting business in public. Some employers don’t even have a policy on privacy filter use.

Either communication about policies with employees is feeble, or attention to visual policy from the decision makers is lacking.  This proves security awareness training and education are needed as an integral part of information security. 

An increasing number of people are taking their online work to public places, but if they knew that company data was properly protected from roving snoops, they’d be more productive. Companies need to take more seriously the issue of visual privacy and this includes equipping employees with tools of protection. Some employees don’t even know what their employer’s policy was.

Type of Data Handled in Public

• Internal financials
• Private HR data
• Trade secrets
• Credit card numbers
• SSNs
• Medical data

Another factor is that of enlightening workers about the whole issue. An enlightened employee is more likely to conduct public online business securely.

Businesses are sadly lacking in security tactics relating to data that’s stored, transmitted, used and displayed. This is a weak link in the chain of sensitive information is the human. Any effective IT security strategy needs to address this issue and take it right down the line to the last employee.