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IT managers worried about data leaks, survey shows

A new survey shows that corporations worry about sensitive data leaking out of corporate networks along with malicious software sneaking in.

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills

IT managers are almost as worried about what sensitive corporate data is leaking out of the company as they are about malware infections from the Web, according to a new survey.

Nearly 40 percent of IT staff at mid to large companies in North America said they believed that unintentional leaks by employees are a bigger threat to the security of their data than spyware or malicious software, according to a survey of 109 IT decision makers conducted over the Web last month by Osterman Research for FaceTime, a company that sells tools that allow companies to easily monitor and block data leaks.

And 57 percent believe their corporate data is not protected adequately from leaks via IM or unified communications, the survey found.

The survey did not ask respondents how many had actually experienced data leaks.