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

Sustainable business starts with people, not HR policies

Why long-term success depends on supporting employees, not just meeting ESG targets, with practical steps for leaders to build healthier organisations.

Hiring steadies but Gulf crisis threatens recovery in UK jobs market

UK hiring shows signs of stabilising, but rising global uncertainty linked to the Gulf crisis is weighing on employer confidence and delaying recovery.

Women ‘face career setback’ risk with flexible working

Female staff using remote or reduced-hour arrangements more likely to move into lower-status roles, raising concerns about bias in career progression.

Jo Kansagra: Make work benefits work for Gen Z

Gen Z employees are entering the workforce at full steam, and yet many workplace benefits schemes are firmly stuck in the past.
- Advertisement -

Union access plans risk straining workplace relations, CIPD warns

Proposed rules on workplace access raise concerns about employer readiness and operational strain.

Petra Wilton on managers struggling with new workplace laws

“Managers are not being given the tools they need to fully understand how the rules of the workplace are changing.”

Must read

Liza Andersin: What happens to Health & Safety laws post Brexit?

In the workplace, health and safety may seem too obvious to need explaining but with the legal attachment’s to businesses of any size and the impending Brexit, things are not as simple as they seem, says Liza Andersin.

Derek Mackenzie: What does the London Growth Plan mean for job seekers and businesses?

London mayor Sadiq Khan and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves recently unveiled the London Growth Plan to create 150,000 high-quality, high-paid jobs by 2028, highlights Derek Mackenzie.
- Advertisement -

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you