Analyst Study Shows Employees Continue to Put Data at Risk
March 10 2010 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
VANCOUVER and TRAVERSE CITY, MI, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Absolute(R) Software Corporation (TSX: ABT), the leading provider
of firmware-based, patented, computer theft recovery, data
protection and secure computer lifecycle management solutions, and
the Ponemon Institute, a privacy and information management
research firm, announced today the results of the second annual
"Human Factor in Laptop Encryption" study. According to the study,
business managers continue to pose the greatest threat to sensitive
company information such as customer records, health information
and other private data. Despite the best efforts of IT departments,
business managers continue to disengage, or turn off, their
laptops' encryption solution - exposing company information to
thieves should the computer go missing. The annual "Human Factor in
Laptop Encryption" study tracks the perception of the effectiveness
of encryption solutions and actions taken by IT and business
managers to secure their laptops. This year's expanded study was
conducted in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and
Sweden, in addition to the United States. The study found that 15%
of German and 13% Swedish business managers have disengaged their
encryption solution. In contrast, 52% of Canadian, 53% of British,
and 50% of French business managers have disengaged their
encryption, while U.S. business managers are the most likely to
circumvent company data security policy - topping the survey at
60%. While Germans and Swedes disengage their encryption solutions
less often, they may not be encrypting all their information: 49%
of Swedish IT managers said that a lost or stolen laptop resulted
in a data breach and German IT managers slightly less at 46%.
Similarly, 50% of Canadian IT managers reported a data breach as a
result of a lost or stolen laptop. IT managers from the U.S. had
the highest percentage at 72%, followed closely by the U.K at 61%.
France came in at the lowest with only 28% of IT managers saying
that a lost or stolen laptop resulted in data breach. Other key
findings for the U.S. in this year's study include the following: -
95% of IT practitioners report that someone in their organization
has had a laptop lost or stolen and 72% report that it resulted in
a data breach. Only 44% report that the organization was able to
prove the contents were encrypted. - 33% of IT practitioners
believe encryption makes it unnecessary to use other security
measures, whereas 58 percent of business managers believe this to
be the case. - 62% of business managers surveyed agree that
encryption stops cyber criminals from stealing data on laptops
versus only 46% of IT practitioners who feel the same way. - 36% of
business managers surveyed record their encryption password on a
document such as a post-it note to jog their memory or share the
key with other individuals. In contrast, virtually none of the IT
practitioners record their password on a private document or share
it with another person. "This study shows that business managers
may be overly reliant on encryption to keep confidential
information safe and secure," said Dr. Larry Ponemon. "While laptop
encryption is an essential and important security tool, improper
end-user actions such as turning off security features, sharing
passwords, or using insecure wireless networks may substantially
reduce the effectiveness of encryption in protecting laptop
computers." "This year's global study gives us graphic evidence
that IT and compliance departments continue to have insufficient
tools to enforce company policies - especially those that are
designed to protect sensitive company information. Despite their
best efforts including deploying encryption technology, they are
consistently thwarted by improper user behavior," said John
Livingston, chairman and CEO of Absolute Software. "The Human
Factor in Encryption study shows that no matter which country you
are located in, you need to seriously contemplate the degree to
which your own employees may be contributing to the potential for
business-jeopardizing data breach incidents. You must take the
human factor out of your computer security plan." The "Human Factor
in Laptop Encryption" study surveyed IT practitioners, including
individuals in IT security, and business managers located in non-IT
disciplines. At the time of the survey respondents were employed by
organizations across 20 industries located in the US, Canada, UK,
France, Germany and Sweden. Copies of the study are available at:
http://www.absolute.com/human-factor. About the Ponemon Institute
The Ponemon Institute(C) is dedicated to advancing responsible
information and privacy management practices in business and
government. To achieve this objective, the Institute conducts
independent research, educates leaders from the private and public
sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of
organizations in a variety of industries. About Absolute Software
Absolute Software Corporation (TSX: ABT) is the leader in tracking,
managing and protecting computers and mobile devices. The Company's
Computrace, Absolute Manage and LoJack(R) for Laptops solutions
provide theft recovery, data protection and computer lifecycle
management capabilities to organizations and consumers. The
Company's software agent is embedded in the firmware of computers
by global leaders, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, General
Dynamics Itronix, HP, Lenovo, Motion, Panasonic and Toshiba, and
the Company has reselling partnerships with these OEMs and others,
including Apple. For more information about Absolute Software,
visit http://www.absolute.com/ and http://blog.absolute.com/. (C)
2010 Absolute Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Computrace, Absolute and Secure Asset Tracking are registered
trademarks of Absolute Software Corporation. LoJack is a registered
trademark of LoJack Corporation, used under license by Absolute
Software Corporation. LoJack Corporation is not responsible for any
content herein. Computrace U.S. patents # 5,715,174, # 5,764,892, #
5,802,280, # 5,896,497, # 6,244,758, # 6,269,392, # 6,300,863, and
# 6,507,914. Canadian patents # 2,284,806 and # 2,205,370. U.K.
patents # EP793823 and # GB2338101. German patent # 695 125
34.6-08. Australian patent # 699045. Japanese patent # JP4067035.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved of
the information contained in this news release. DATASOURCE:
Absolute Software Corporation CONTACT: Absolute Software Public
Relations: Leslie Campisi, AffectStrategies,
leslie@affectstrategies.com or (212) 398-9680 x144;
AbsoluteSoftware Investor Relations: Dave Mason, CFA, The Equicom
Group,dmason@equicomgroup.com or (416) 815-0700 x237; Ponemon
Institute PublicRelations: Mike Spinney, Ponemon Institute, (978)
597-0342,mspinney@ponemon.org
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