IT source of security leaks

A new survey adds to HR's worries about keeping employees' personal details under lock and key.

One third of IT staff has admitted they snoop on fellow employees' salary details and personal emails, according to a new survey. Cyber-Ark polled 300 senior IT professionals from companies employing around 1,000 people, and the results revealed nearly 3% use their admin passwords to sneak a peek at confidential information, including mergers and acquisition reports, and meeting minutes.

According to the authors of the report, the blame for these transgressions lies squarely with the companies and their sloppy security practices. It reveals few companies limit access to confidential files and rarely change passwords to privileged areas, with 30% only changing once a quarter, and 9% never changing at all.

Despite the government's recent spate of embarrassing data losses, the results also show companies continue to distribute sensitive information in unsafe ways. 35% said they frequently emailed sensitive data, or sent it via courier services, while 12% confessed to sending cash in the post.

Recrion is an HR consultancy that focuses on best practice and can advise on these issues.