Survey says ex-employees take critical data with them

Almost three out of five employees who lost or left their job last year – 59 percent – stole confidential company data, says a survey by Ponemon Institute and Symantec Corp. Data misappropriated included e-mail lists, employee records, customer contacts and nonfinancial information.

Most of the survey respondents who said they took company data also said they had an unfavorable view of their previous employer. The survey polled nearly 1,000 U.S. adults who lost or left a job in 2008. The greatest percentage of respondents was from the financial services sector.

Companies need to implement data loss prevention technologies so they know exactly where sensitive data resides, how it is being used, and prevent it from being copied, downloaded or sent outside the company, advises Symantec. Other findings include:

• 82 percent said their bosses did not perform an audit or review of paper or electronic documents before the respondent left the job.
• 79 percent took data without an employer’s OK.
• 53 percent of respondents downloaded information onto a CD or DVD, 42 percent onto a USB drive and 38 percent sent attachments to a personal e-mail account.
• Most, 69 percent, respondents who hung onto their company’s data say they found a new job. Of those respondents, 67 percent use the information at their new job.
• Of the exiting respondents, 37 percent were fired, 38 percent found a new job and 21 percent left anticipating a layoff.