Top-level executives, IT administrators and other authorized personnel cause 56% of incidents, cites InfoWatch
Kuala Lumpur, October 12, 2017 — Data leakages in ASEAN countries are mainly caused by the negligence of top-level executives and employees with access to sensitive and confidential data, according to the latest research findings by cybersecurity and data leak prevention expert InfoWatch Group.
Up to 56% of incidents of compromised data were caused by executives, employees, IT administrators and other authorised personnel. The other 44% of leakages were the result of external attacks and former employees. (Figure 1)
Figure 1 |
“It is a disturbing sign to
see that a relatively high percentage of leaks stem from top managers and
system administrators who fall into the category of ‘privileged users’,” said Vladimir
Shutemov, Chief International Business Development Officer of InfoWatch
Group.
Shutemov, who
also heads InfoWatch SEA operations based in Kuala Lumpur, added, “Leaks due to blunders,
intentional violation of rules or malicious activities of privileged users are the most destructive as
they have more access to sensitive data compared to rank-and-file employees.”
He was citing the latest
findings of InfoWatch research unit, InfoWatch
Analytics Center, on data leaks reported by governments and commercial and non-commercial
organisations in Southeast Asia, South Korea, India and Bangladesh. The
research was based on information sources in the media and other public domains
between July 2016 and July 2017.
Shutemov said users with
advanced permissions, either unwittingly or deliberately, cause the leakage, because
they were “unhappy” with any attempt by
their organisations to control their PCs, laptops and mobile phones.
By industry category, the
research also pointed out that up to 43% of leakages in Southeast Asia stemmed
from public institutions including government, military and law enforcement agencies,
compared to only 13% worldwide. (Figure 2)
In terms of types of data
leaked, in Southeast Asia, South Korea, India and Bangladesh, the report cited that
personal data comprised almost 77%, followed by payment details at 15%, trade
secrets or know-how at 5%, and state secrets, close to 3%. By comparison, globally, 62% of data leaked
was personal data, while up to 31% of data stolen were payment details. (Figure
3)
Figure 3 |
“In line with global trends,
Southeast Asia and other Asian countries are striving to improve cybersecurity.
Their governments have toughened up personal data laws, while enterprises more
and more often use information security tools against external and internal
intruders. But more needs to be done as technology advances and the intruders
become more sophisticated,” said Shutemov.
By channels, browsers and
cloud storages turned out to be the most common means data is leaked, almost
74% of all cases, while equipment loss, such as stolen laptops, and the popular
use of instant messenger apps, together caused 14% of leaks. Globally, browsers
and cloud storages were used in 61% of data leaks, followed by email (23%), and
paper documents (8%). (Figure 4)
Figure 4 |
InfoWatch
currently serves more than 1,500 large customers worldwide with proprietary and
patented cutting-edge cybersecurity technologies.
InfoWatch’s
full suite of data leak prevention and cybersecurity solutions and can analyse
content in Asian languages for the prevention of data leakages, including in
Malay, Indonesian and Vietnamese.
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