Are Workers Unaware of IT Security Policies?

RMN Digital | February 14, 2012 | Americas, Backend, CIO Info, Corporate, Enterprise, Opinion, People, Regions, Surveys | No Comments

A new survey commissioned by Xerox (NYSE: XRX) and McAfee, reveals that more than half (54 percent) of employees say they don’t always follow their company’s IT security policies or aren’t even aware of the policies (21 percent) – leaving the security of customer credit card numbers, financial reports, and HR and tax documents at risk.

According to the survey, 39 percent of employees who copy, scan or print confidential information at work worry at least sometimes whether the information on a networked device will remain secure.

To address this concern, Xerox and McAfee said today, Feb. 14, they are teaming up to design a security system to help companies protect against threats to this confidential data.

[ Also Read: IBM Offers Free Internet Security Training Tools ]

By integrating embedded McAfee software into Xerox technology, the two companies plan to use a whitelisting method that allows only approved files to run, offering significantly more protection than traditional black listing tactics, where a user has to be aware of and proactively block viruses, spyware and other malicious software.

Additionally, the solution provides an audit trail to track and investigate the time and origin of security events, and take action on them.

[ Also Read: Goby Geek Deals with Virus on His Computer ]

“With more than 50,000 new security threats emerging each day, protecting sensitive company information can be intimidating for IT managers – especially when you consider that any device sitting on the network, from a PC to a fax machine, can be exposed to those threats,” said Rick Dastin, president, Enterprise Business Group, Xerox Corporation. “This partnership will work to ensure those devices are secure and company information is protected.”

[ Also Read: How Asian Companies Address Security Threats ]

Xerox and McAfee are improving the safety of devices on the network to protect proprietary company data – a needed solution according to survey data, which also found that some companies don’t take simple steps to lessen the risk, such as making sure employees are aware of IT policies and use access codes to pick up prints and copies.

Additional survey results found:

Half (51 percent) of those employees whose workplace has a printer, copier or MFP say they’ve copied, scanned or printed confidential information at work.
Of the 39 percent who say they are at least sometimes worried about confidential information staying secure, 86 percent say they are at least somewhat worried about personal information, 77 percent say customer data, 77 percent say employee information and 70 percent say proprietary company information.
More than half (54 percent) say computers pose the biggest security threat to their company’s network compared to other IT devices, while only 6 percent say it is MFPs.
Only 13 percent of employees whose workplace has a printer, copier or MFP say they are prompted to enter a password or passcode on the MFP before releasing a job they’ve printed or accessing the ability to copy.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Xerox from Jan. 5-9, 2012 among 2,541 adults ages 18 and older, of which 1,391 are employed full and/or part time.