A fifth of staff would sell work passwords, says report

-

typing
Employers need to improve their cybersecurity as one in five of their employees would sell their work-related passwords to outsiders. Photo: Shutterstock

Security and governance company SailPoint has surveyed 1,000 office workers in the UK, the US, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Australia to produce its annual Market Pulse Survey.

The report revealed that not only would one in five employees sell their passwords to people outside their organisations, 44 percent of those would do so for less than £700. Some would sell their corporate credentials for less than £70. A quarter of employees admitted to uploading sensitive information to cloud apps with the specific intent to share that data outside the company.

Three quarters of employees said that they would react negatively if their personal information was breached by another company. 84 percent said that they were concerned that sensitive information about them was being shared.

While workers are concerned about their own safety, that concern has seemingly not translated into action in the workplace. The majority of respondents admitted to using a single password among multiple applications and one third of employees shared their password with co-workers.

HRreview Logo

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Keep up with the latest in HR...
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Optin_date
This field is hidden when viewing the form

 

In addition nearly half of employees stated that they had access to a variety of corporate accounts after leaving their last job.

“This year’s Market Pulse Survey shines a light on the significant disconnect between how employees view their personal information and that of their employer, which could also include personal information of customers,” said the President and Founder of SailPoint, Kevin Cunningham.

“It only takes one entry point out of hundreds of millions in a single enterprise for a hacker to gain access and cause a lot of damage.”

 

 

Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.

Latest news

Grant Wyatt: The collapse of the managerial empire

For half a century, middle management was the backbone of corporate life. Now, however, that model is fracturing.

Guaranteed hours reforms could reduce hiring and hurt young workers, employers warn

Recruiters warn proposed guaranteed hours reforms could reduce flexible hiring and make it harder for younger workers to access jobs.

More than a quarter of UK workers ‘lose three weeks of annual leave’ as burnout fears grow

Unused annual leave and cancelled holidays are rising across the UK workforce as growing numbers of employees struggle with stress and burnout.

Job losses to hit manufacturing and retail as growth slows and energy costs rise

Manufacturing, retail and construction employers are expected to scale back hiring as businesses face mounting cost pressures and weaker consumer demand.
- Advertisement -

Inefficient staff training ‘costs UK businesses £416m a year’

UK employers are losing millions of working hours to inefficient workplace learning, limiting skills development and productivity across key sectors.

Business failures leave £32.6m in unpaid pensions as insolvencies surge

Rising company insolvencies are leaving millions in workplace pension contributions unpaid, putting pressure on retirement savings across the UK.

Must read

Natasha Kearslake: Has the online training pendulum swung too far?

Natasha Kearslake of HR Learning & Development experts Organic P&O Solutions asks if online training is up to the job.  

Kate Palmer: Are employers responsible for what happens at the Christmas party?

Kate Palmer has a piece of advice for employers making preparations for their staff Christmas parties.
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you