Protect your business from data leakage!

Protect your business from data leakage!
One in four UK employees have intentionally leaked confidential business information to individuals outside their organisations, new research has revealed.

In a survey of 2,000 UK workers, it was found that employees who leaked information were most likely to share data with competitors, or new or former employers. Half of all survey respondents said they had deleted, or would delete, emails from their sent folder if they had sent information somewhere they shouldn’t.
Employers should be conscious of data protection clauses in employee contracts, and aware of the data risks former employees could pose if guidelines are not explicitly included.

If an employee is still employed within their organisation, even if nothing is written in a contract of employment, they are under a legal obligation to not disclose confidential information. However, once employment has ended, if there is no clause in the contract, only trade-secret information would be protected – and there is no long-term obligation to keep company information confidential. Well-drafted contracts are therefore vital, because they protect employers once a contract has ended.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, due to come into force in May 2018, organisations will need to disclose data breaches to the appropriate authorities within 72 hours. If the breach poses a high degree of risk to the rights of the individuals concerned, the business will need to inform the people affected as well.