HRreview 20 Years
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Subscribe for weekday HR news, opinion and advice.
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

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

Felicia Williams: Why ‘shadow work’ is quietly breaking your people strategy

Employees are losing seven hours a week to tasks that fall outside their core job description. For HR leaders, that’s the kind of stat that keeps you up at night.

Redundancies rise as 327,000 job losses forecast for 2026

UK job losses are set to rise again as redundancy warnings hit post-pandemic highs, with employers cutting roles amid rising costs and economic pressure.

Rise of ‘sickfluencers’ and AI advice sparks concern over attitudes to work

Online influencers and AI tools are shaping how people approach illness and employment, heaping pressure on employers.

‘Silent killer’ dust linked to 500 construction deaths a year as 600,000 workers face exposure

Hundreds of UK construction workers die each year from silica dust exposure as a new campaign calls for stronger workplace protections.
- Advertisement -

Leaders ‘overestimate’ how much workers use AI

Firms may be misreading workforce readiness for artificial intelligence, as frontline staff report far lower day-to-day adoption than executives expect.

Cost-of-living pressures ‘keep unhappy workers in their jobs’

Many say economic pressures are forcing them to remain in jobs they would otherwise leave, as pay and financial stability dominate career decisions.

Must read

William Diaz: Transferring professional athletes to the US

Using Steven Gerrard as an example, William Diaz, from Laura Devine Solicitors explains the process of transferring professional athletes to the US.

Top 15 Churchill quotes that could have been about HR

Here’s our list of the former prime minister’s greatest quotes that could have been about our everyday responsibilities
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you