Yet again, the usage of unauthorized, personal file sharing solutions in businesses is causing major concerns for IT departments. As these personal-use file sharing systems are used to manage important business documents and confidential information, the security of data is put at a high risk—such a high risk that data loss is a possibility in the future.
So, to emphasize this increasingly popular problem amongst businesses and their staff, the results from Symantec’s 2011 SME File Sharing Survey were released, and the findings aren’t surprising. The results show that small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) are at high risk for security breaches due to the consistent use of unauthorized file sharing systems amongst staff members. So, what causes this behavior?
From looking over the highlights of the survey analysis, it seems as if employees adopt such file sharing systems because they have no other option. 74% of respondents started using these methods of file sharing to simply increase their productivity. Also, with file sizes getting larger and more employees working remotely, file sharing seems like the perfect solution—and it is! However, a secure and authorized file sharing system must be used with your IT department’s knowledge to avoid sharing data in an unprotected fashion.
What’s interesting is the fact that 22% of the respondents to this survey haven’t even established protocols on how employees can access and share files. This goes to show that there is a small, but pretty significant, percentage of businesses that are still unaware of how dangerous insecure file sharing truly is.
The greatest recommendation that Symantec offers is the centralization of file storage and management with a secure system. So, if you’re having issues in your company with data management, give SmartFile a try. I’m sure we could help.
To view the results and highlights of Symantec’s 2011 SME File Sharing Survey, click here.