Workplace collaboration tools may be exposing companies to data exfiltration risk, according to Code 42’s 2020 Data Exposure Report on Insider Threat. As more companies introduce corporate-sponsored cloud platforms and file-sharing applications to enable employees in any location to work together more efficiently, the software provider found that many workers have become complacent about data security. More than a third use personal email and unauthorized apps like WhatsApp, Google Drive and Facebook on a daily basis to share files, making it nearly impossible for companies to track where their data is going.
On top of that, 73% of employees have access to data they did not create and 59% can see data from other departments. This means companies are often unaware of whether an employee has taken valuable data with them when they depart for a new job. In fact, 87% of workers said their former employer never verified whether they had taken data when they left. Meanwhile, 32% who had exfiltrated data said their new employers encouraged them to share it with their new colleagues.