STEEL NEWS

Staff in recession eye company secrets

Almost half of the financial sector workers in London and New York say they would take sensitive company information with them if fired, according to a new transatlantic survey.

The poll of 600 office workers in Canary Wharf in London and Wall Street in New York by management specialists Cyber- Ark showed that 41 percent of respondents had taken sensitive data to new posts.

A third also said they would pass on company information if it proved useful in getting friends or family a job.

Nearly 50 percent said that if they were fired tomorrow they would take company information with them, and 39 percent would download company or competitive information if they got wind of a layoff risk.

And a quarter of workers said that the recession has meant that they feel less loyal toward their employer.

"This survey shows that many workers are willing to do practically anything to ensure job security or make themselves more marketable – including committing a crime,"UK Director of Cyber-Ark Mark Fullbrook said in a statement.

Top of the hit list for data thieves was customer and contact details at 29 percent, followed by plans and proposals at 18 percent and product information at 11 percent.

The survey also showed that 85 percent of respondents admitted they knew it is illegal to download corporate information from their employer.

More than half said it has become a lot easier to take sensitive information from under their bosses' noses this year, up from 29 percent last year.

The survey also highlighted differences between British and US workers in the recession.

Just over a quarter of British employees said they would work 80 hours a week to keep their jobs, while only 12 percent of US workers were willing to work harder to keep their jobs.