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by John W. Simek, Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.

File Sharing is Leaking Data

November 11, 2014

Do you allow file sharing and cloud data storage applications to be used by the employees? Even if you don’t allow it, do you know if anyone is actually using file sharing? According to a recent report from Ponemon called “Breaking Bad: The Risk of Unsecure File Sharing,” many organizations have little or no controls in place to protect data and are enabling data sharing outside of the organization without the knowledge of senior management.

The report states that over 60 percent of employees have frequently or often:

  • Used their personal file-sharing/file sync-and-share apps in the workplace.
  • Sent unencrypted emails.
  • Failed to delete confidential documents or files as required by policies.
  • Accidentally forwarded files or documents to individuals not authorized to see them.

The study points the finger at file sharing applications such as Dropbox. While Dropbox and others can be used to safely share data, the reality is that most businesses have no clue what the employees are doing on their networks and are probably leaking data as you read this.

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