Benefits February 24, 2009

Former Employees Admit Being Data Thieves

February 24, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Findings of a joint survey by Symantec Corp. and the Ponemon Institute revealed 59% of employees who lost or left a job in 2008 admit to stealing confidential company information.

Reported by

Rebecca Moore

According to a press release, the most commonly identified kinds of records taken included e-mail lists, employee records, customer information including contact lists, and non-financial information. Although respondents were spread across many different industries, the highest percentage of survey responses came from the financial services industry, the announcement said.

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Of respondents who admitted to taking company data, 61% also reported having an unfavorable view of their former employer. Seventy-nine percent of respondents took data without an employer’s permission.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said they downloaded information onto a CD or DVD, 42% onto a USB drive, and 38% sent attachments to a personal e-mail account. Eighty-two percent said their employers did not perform an audit or review of paper or electronic documents before the respondent left his/her job.

Almost a quarter of respondents (24%) had access to their employer’s computer system or network after their departure from the company.

The Ponemon Institute conducted the Web-based survey in January 2009, polling nearly 1,000 adult participants located in the United States who left an employer within the past 12 months.