Do you think confidential information is protected by your company’s IT security policy? Think again. A new survey commissioned by Xerox and McAfee, reveals that more than half (54%) of employees say they don’t always follow their company’s IT security policies (33%) or aren’t even aware of the policies (21%) — leaving the security of your customer’s data, credit card numbers, financial reports, HR and tax documents, and more at risk.
According to the survey, 39% of employees who copy, scan or print confidential information at work worry at least sometimes whether the information on a networked device will remain secure.
To address this concern, Xerox and McAfee teamed up to design a security system to help companies protect against threats to this confidential data. By integrating embedded McAfee software into Xerox hardware, the two companies use a whitelisting method that allows only approved files to run, offering significantly more protection than traditional blacklisting tactics, where a user has to be aware of and proactively block viruses, spyware and other malicious software. It is similar to how Apple approves and allows Apps on their App Store, which is much more secure for the user and provides their customer with possible user experience. Additionally, the solution provides an audit trail to track and investigate the time and origin of security events, and take action on them.
“With more than 50,000 new security threats emerging each day, protecting sensitive company information can be intimidating for IT managers — especially when you consider that any device sitting on the network, from a Xerox and McAfee are improving the safety of devices on the network to protect proprietary company data — a needed solution according to survey data, which also found that some companies don’t take simple steps to lessen the risk, such as making sure employees are aware of IT policies and use access codes to pick up prints and copies. Additional survey results found: “The threat landscape has evolved to include devices that when originally designed, where never considered a security threat,” said Tom Moore, vice president of embedded sales, McAfee. “Now we are seeing the need for security on devices like MFPs to protect confidential and proprietary data, which if lost or stolen, could negatively impact a company and its employees. The partnership with McAfee and Xerox embeds security into the device for better protection.” With the speed at which technology evolves in our work and personal life, it is important to ensure your company remains as protected and secure as possible. By setting a security policy and ensuring your employees follow it as well as integrating digital security solutions such as those provided by Xerox and Mcafee, you are taking important steps to ensuring your company’s and customers’ data is safe and secure. This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Xerox from Jan. 5–9, 2012 among 2,541 adults ages 18 and older, of which 1,391 are employed full and/or part time. This survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
SURVEY METHODOLOGY
