An office environment with a woman holding an iPad and three people collaborating in the background

Employees Blind to Data Retention Risks

Employees Blind to Data Retention Risks

Synopsis
3 Minute Read

Are careless data storage practices exposing your business to legal or cyber security threats? You might be more exposed than you think.

More than half of the office-based employees surveyed online by e-discovery platform vendor kCura between December 2016 and January 2017 admitted their companies lack written policies on data retention or personal use of work devices – or if they do, the employees were not aware of them.

kCura found upwards of 70 percent of the more than 1,000 respondents use folders in their inbox as filing systems. Additionally, 55 percent believe there is no harm to their employers when they use a work device for personal communications.

Beware of Lawmen and Outlaws Alike

In today's increasingly litigious business environment, the employee communications habits this study reveals could put their organizations in danger of increased data retention and discovery costs. Especially as the courts are increasingly treating all data within the enterprise as potentially discoverable.

With the rise in malware and other virus attacks via email systems, companies where staff use their inboxes as filing systems face tremendous potential risk. Losing massive amounts of corporate knowledge is increasingly likely in the event of an email system hack – especially without procedures and processes to recover the data.

Review, Educate, Engage

It's time to take a deeper look at your information governance policies with a keen eye to email and how you enforce these polices for your organization's protection. Also, to provide an update to your staff on the best information and data retention practices to keep your data and your business safe.

Tomorrow’s technology is shaping business today. To learn more about how MNP can help you identify and neutralize your enterprise data risks, contact John Desborough, Director Consulting and Technology Solutions at [email protected].

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