A calculator which measures the cost to companies of time spent by employees using social media has revealed that the average company with 52 employees pays out $65000 per year for non-work related social media activity. WebTitan’s social media cost calculator shows that workers using non-work related social networking for a mere 20 minutes is the equivalent of paying out $65,000 or 5% of the year’s salary bill for non-productive work.
Read more →A significant and potentially damaging disconnect on aviation security policy and direction is beginning to emerge as the industry sector gears up for the forthcoming Transport Security Expo 2011.
With the United States government maintaining a hardline stance and insisting that the European Union bend to its will on aviation security, United Kingdom policymakers seem determined to drive an industry led approach forward, that some notable observers suggest turns the clock back a full decade.
Read more →A worrying number of UK office workers admit to putting work-related data at risk whilst working off-site, according to research released today by Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider.
The study of 1000 British office workers(1) finds that 37 per cent have taken risks with work-related data or documents, such as using personal or home computers, or taking a slack approach to data security whilst outside of the office. 1 in 4 office workers admit to committing at least one ‘data security sin’ such as losing a USB device, leaving laptops unattended in public (such as on a train), or keeping work-related files in a car overnight. The study reveals that very few UK office workers use a secure online method of transferring work data to and from their workplace.
Fasthosts’ ‘Bad Data Habits Audit’ reveals that many British office workers may be putting their companies at risk by transferring or saving work-related materials off-site without sufficient care. The study reveals that whilst only 15 per cent of workers know they have lost data, 37 per cent admit they have cut-corners and put data at unnecessary risk whilst away from the office. 1 in 4 office workers take significant risks with their behaviour, such as losing a storage device or papers, or leaving laptops unsecured in public or in their cars. Worryingly, 1 in 4 respondents keep work-related data from the past stored on their home computers. 1 in 5 workers admit to frequently risking important documents by failing to make any back-up copy.
The data reveals that in most cases individual workers are expected to determine their own method for transferring data off site. The most commonly used method of data storage and transfer off-site is the USB stick (25 per cent), followed by a work email account (24 per cent), laptop (14 per cent), private email account (9 per cent) and paper documents (9 per cent). Due to their small size, USB sticks are easily lost when off-site or traveling. In addition, USB drives are a common way for computer viruses to be spread between machines. By transferring data in this way, employees can expose their office systems to any viruses or malware that is present on personal or public computers.
Steve Holford, Marketing Director, Fasthosts Internet Ltd, said “Businesses can make the mistake of viewing data security as an on-site issue. Often the risks can lie with physical loss or with personal computers. Firms should identify how their staff transfer and handle business documents outside of the work-place, and minimize the risks by providing them with clear advice and a secure and easy to use solution for handling the data”.
Today, there are web-based services that can help workers safely transfer, store or back-up their documents whilst working outside of the office. These cloud-based storage solutions transfer data as encrypted and store it in a secure data centre location protected against physical and electronic threats. The study reveals that currently only 5 per cent of respondents are using an online storage or back-up service provided by their work, and 2 per cent are using such a service they themselves have sourced.
The data also reveals that too many UK firms are losing data as a result of IT problems. 1 in 10 workers has lost data recently as a result of a server or disk-drive failing. 1 in 10 report that their employers do not provide any advice or software for making back-ups of files. A solution such as Fasthosts Secure Online Storage can help businesses enhance both security and also reliability. From only £19.99/month+VAT for 50GB, and scalable according to needs, the package comprises a convenient way to store work-related files off-site in a secure data centre location, protecting them from accidental loss, deletion or corruption. The user-friendly service offers 3 different ways of securely uploading and downloading electronic files. For businesses more concerned about backing up their data regularly, the Fasthosts Online Backup service, £10.00/month+VAT for 10GB, provides a secure off-site storage solution that automatically backs up important files and documents on a regular basis.
Holford added, “A secure online storage solution can not only enhance your data security but can also raise productivity as business materials are on-hand to staff 24/7 from any computer”.
As a leading web hosting provider, and Technology Sponsor of The Great Exhibition 2012, Fasthosts offers a comprehensive range of web solutions including domain name registrations, email solutions (including mobile email services), shared web hosting, virtual servers, dedicated servers, secure online storage, online payment services, reseller web hosting and feature-rich broadband packages. Fasthosts is well placed to deliver a high quality service. All data is hosted in Fasthosts’ state-of-the-art UK based data centre.
Read more →European research conducted by LANDesk Software suggests that a quarter of consumers are putting their employer’s networks at risk of viruses, malware and worms. The research shows that holiday makers are irresponsibly plugging gadgets such as digital cameras, smartphones, mp3 players and USB sticks into home, work, public and foreign PCs, without taking the necessary antiviral measures.
The survey found that almost 75 per cent of holidaymakers travel with gadgets to maintain consistent access to email, Facebook and Twitter. Digital cameras are the most popular gadgets taken across borders (62 per cent), followed by laptops (58 per cent) and smartphones/iPhones (38 per cent and 33 per cent respectively). Over a quarter of the respondents planning a trip abroad in 2011 admitted they would connect their devices to any available PC. And more than half confessed to inserting the same gadgets into their work PCs.
“Connecting gadgets to the corporate network obviously poses a major risk for companies, as people return from their holidays with potentially unwanted souvenirs in their software, causing the IT department the ultimate holiday hangover,” said Nigel Seddon, Area Director, LANDesk Software.
A previous survey by LANDesk concluded that 74 per cent of staff bring their own equipment with them to work, be it mp3 players, smartphones or USBs. With these statistics in mind, companies could face increased costs in fighting malware as employees return from their holidays abroad.
“With employees admitting such irresponsible behaviours, companies must be prepared for an influx in malware attacks during and following the summer holiday period,” Seddon continues. “Consumers too should be aware of the potential consequences of failing to protect their devices.”
Seddon advises, “IT departments need the ability to manage and secure all user devices across multiple platforms. If an organisation’s current infrastructure does not automatically discover these devices as they attach to corporate data, to control an environment where both personal and secure corporate-owned data are inter-mingled – and if it’s not based upon tiered functionality and role-based administration – then maybe it’s time to re-evaluate.”
Read more →Over half (58 per cent) of British office workers have struggled to find important files or documents they thought they had saved on their work computer, according to research released today by leading information management company Iron Mountain. With more than 60 per cent of all company information now carried on PCs and laptops, looking for lost or deleted files is a waste of valuable staff time, a burden on IT helpdesk resources and can sap employee morale.
The research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Iron Mountain, supports findings by Butler Group that up to 10 per cent of a company’s salary costs and a quarter of its staff time can be ‘frittered away’ by employees looking for information. For a company with 250 employees, this means that up to 2,300 working hours a week – just under two hours a day per employee –are potentially wasted, costing the business up to £700,000 a year (1).
“Looking for documents can be extremely frustrating for employees as well as damaging for the business,” said Richard Ellis, sales director, Iron Mountain Digital. “With more and more employees working remotely on laptops and struggling to deal with an ever-growing quantity of information, it is inevitable that documents will get lost–the consequence of a hard drive failure, the theft of a portable device or accidental deletion– resulting in anguished calls to the IT department.”
“The YouGov research also showed that well-intentioned company policies on how to store and manage company information are not always getting through to the workforce,” added Ellis. “The survey revealed that around a quarter (23 per cent) of office workers are unaware or not very aware of their organisation’s data management policies, leaving the company vulnerable to damaging data breaches and security infringements. Having a professional and efficient data backup solution in place for business computers means that firms can implement these policies without having to rely on individual employees.”
IT solutions exist today to safely protect and back up company information making it accessible through a secure Web portal. Such solutions have the additional benefit of taking the pressure off employees in terms of understanding and implementing the organisation’s data management policies. This offers automatic data protection enabling employees to quickly and securely move data to and from their laptops.
According to Michael Shisko, director of IT at Hitachi Consulting, even the company’s experienced consultants suffer from their share of data disasters. “On a pretty regular basis, we have machines coming back that need to be restored. So, from a disaster recovery perspective, Iron Mountain is being used on a regular basis, improving overall productivity since our consultants can easily restore lost data themselves.”
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