With IDC Research finding that 97 billion messages are sent in the world each day, email remains one of the largest perceived security risks to companies. IDC’s report also noted that 80 percent of an organization’s operational records are stored within the email infrastructure.
A recent survey now shows that employers generally see regular employees as the major abusers. Sophos, a Boston-based supplier of IT security solutions in 150 countries, conducted a web poll of employers that asked, “Which user exposes you to the greatest threat?”
Forty-four percent of employers said standard employees posed the biggest threat. Mobile employees were a distant second at 19 percent, contractors were 14 percent, remote access users at 12 percent and guests at 11 percent.
“Email is now central to the day-to-day operation of practically all organizations, regardless of size or sector,” according to the Sophos report. “Yet, while it is far too important to lock down, email poses a large enough risk where it cannot be left unregulated, especially as nearly all employees expect a certain level of personal email use while at work.”