Half of employees ignore bans from their employers that prohibit them from using file-sharing services in the workplace, according to a new survey by Nasuni, a provider of enterprise storage.
The survey also finds that one in five employees use Dropbox, a consumer-grade file-sharing service, for work files. Among those ignoring the risks are most often corporate leaders, particularly vice presidents and directors.
Another 58 percent of respondents who own a personal smart phone or tablet access work files from that device, and the number of personal devices in the office is projected to rise by 25 percent.
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Information technology departments are responsible for securing protection and controlling data access, but when employees instead use consumer-grade file-sharing services for work files, those systems are overridden, taking over IT's responsibility, Nasuni maintains. This can be damaging because as more mobile devices are entering the workplace, there is greater risk of data loss.
"Consumer file-sharing services and mobile devices have introduced enterprise employees to a new world of powerful, easy-to use-capabilities," says Andres Rodriguez, CEO of Nasuni. "And, as our survey demonstrates, because the enterprise has been very slow to roll out services with a comparable value, their employees are using the same services at work that they use to share photos and documents with their friends. As a result, enterprise IT is rapidly losing control of corporate data. It's a risky proposition that IT needs to be in front of and not behind."
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