Study: 45% Of Workers Steal Data When Changing Jobs

Nearly half of professionals from across a wide range of industries admit they have taken data with them -- everything from documents and lists to sales proposals and contracts -- when they've changed jobs.

What about safeguards? Seems workers aren't all that concerned with them -- or getting past them, at least.

According to the international Information Security Survey, users polled said they don't see their companies' IT security practices as obstacles to accessing data from outside company walls or to walking out the door with it in their bag or thumb drive.

They're also aware that if they're capable of taking critical information home with them, others are, too. The survey showed that 39% of workers have printed a document out rather than forward it on electronically to try to minimize the number of paths it could take out of the building.

The study, which was commissioned by enterprise rights management company Liquid Machines, was conducted by online survey services provider Zoomerang. More than 900 professionals, with 84% in the United States, were polled over a one-month period earlier this year.Historically, IT and security managers have focused on protecting the company network, and the information on it, from outside attackers. Over the last several years, though, an increasing amount of attention has fallen on the risk associated with a company's own employees -- the dreaded insider.

Some security professionals are even recommending that companies perform background checks on their IT workers, especially those who have access to key systems and applications.

Of the 45% of respondents who said they've taken data with them when they've left a job, some said they simply e-mailed data to a personal address. Others said they walked out the door with the data, usually on a peripheral storage device, tucked in a bag or pocket. Eighty-seven percent said they're allowed to use flash drives, while 69% can use external hard drives. Even MP3 players, which are used by 46% of respondents, can be used as external hard drives.

The study also showed that with so many admitting to taking data with them when they leave jobs, it's no surprise that 53% of respondents said they suspect their companies' intellectual property is being used by the competition. Among manufacturing employees, a whopping 71% said their competition has used their companies' intellectual property. Technology employees agree with this statement 63% of the time.

It's not clear how many people blame their own sticky fingers, but it's clear that many blame IT.About 42% of respondents said their companies' security is non-existent, not strong enough, the wrong type, or too restrictive. A full 48% of those working in technology blame poor security.