New Research by GetApp Reveals Almost Half of Employees in the US Have Access to Data They Don’t Need to Perform Their Job

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Businesses across the US are putting their data security at risk by allowing employees to access levels of company data they don’t need to complete their job, a new study of business data practices has found.

 

 

Commissioned by the marketplace for business app discovery, GetApp, the survey asked 714 full-time US employees about the data security practices of their employer. 

 

More than one in ten employees (12%) reported they have access to all company data. Almost half (48%) said they can access company data that is not needed to perform their job. 

 

Highlighting the negligent attitude of some US enterprises when it comes to their most valuable data, the study was conducted alongside recent news that the average data breach costs US businesses over $8 million.  

 

GetApp’s survey also asked employees what classifications of data protection are in place at their company. No more than a third of businesses were found to use anyone individual data classification. The lowest in use are Proprietary (15%) and Highly Confidential (18%).

 

The most prevalent data classification levels in use are as follows:

 

• Confidential – 33% of businesses use this classification 
• Internal – 30%
• Public – 29%
• Restricted/Sensitive – 25%
   

In light of the results, GetApp has compiled a data protection guide for US businesses. It highlights the importance of good data handling practices and offers tips for building a business data classification policy. 

 

Zach Capers, Senior Content Analyst at GetApp said of the findings: 

 

“As companies contend with rapidly growing volumes of sensitive information, data security risks are increasing for businesses of all sizes. That’s why the outcome of our survey is so alarming.

 

“You may have complete trust in your employees, but innocent mistakes happen and it could cost a business millions in lost revenue and reputational damage. Strict data classification, alongside extensive employee training on the dangers of poor data handling practices, will minimize the chance of a leak happening at your business.”

 

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