An employee was to blame for accidentally sending private client information to the wrong e-mail address. According to experts at InfoWatch, virtually every large company needs to address the threat of human error because it accounts for 90% of confidential data leaks.
On August 21 an employee at Verizon Wireless accidentally sent an e-mail containing private information to 1,800 of the company’s clients. The message’s attachment included information such as the names, mobile telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of 5,000 Verizon Wireless customers.
A Verizon spokesman said the errant e-mail was "quickly recalled," but added that some of the recipients had viewed the contents of the file before the recall notice was sent. The company has already started informing the 5,000 affected customers about the breach. Verizon says it is also planning to implement measures to prevent similar lapses in the future.
“Today human error is to blame for 50% of all data security incidents, and when it comes to confidential data leaks, that figure rises to 90%. It makes no difference how well a company is protected from external threats, the unpremeditated actions by members of staff still requires separate attention. A company as large as Verizon most definitely needs a solution that can contain human error,” believes Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch.
Source: ComputerWorld
