Moscow, July 31, 2008 – InfoWatch, a leading Russian developer of internal threat protection systems announced results of the confidential data leak survey for the 1st half – year 2008.
The aim of the analytical survey “Data leaks of the 1st half – year 2008” is the analysis of all data leak events mentioned in mass media for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2008. The survey covered incidents happened in all countries and spheres during the period.
185 data leaks were registered in InfoWatch’s database for the first six months of 2008. Incidents happened during the period are classified according to the company type as follows:
Commercial companies – 50% (58% in 2007); Educational and non-government organizations – 31% (20% in 2007); Governmental bodies – 18% (22% in 2007).The types of leaking information remain the same in recent years. The wrongdoers are mostly interested in personal data which is the most demanded information type in the Western countries, whereas leaks of know-how, commercial classified information and state secrets are hidden from the public eye.
Personal data – 95% (93% in 2007); Know-how, commercial secrets – 2% (6% in 2007); State secrets – 1% (1% in 2007).The data leak channels have not changed drastically in comparison with the previous year. The most common ways are laptop theft and loss, accidental online publishing of confidential files and hacker attacks:
Internet/Intranet – 27% (25% in 2007); Laptops/PDA – 31% (39% in 2007); Desktop computers/servers – 13% (13% in 2007); Printed documents – 10% (7% in 2007); Archive media – 4% (4% in 2007).The USA takes the special place in the survey. The legislation of the majority of states requires organizations to notify consumers of personal data leak incidents. Consequently, data leak incidents easily become public domain. Other countries where data leak incidents were registered include the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, China and others.
InfoWatch’s analytical researches are carried out annually and from now on semi-annually. Data leak incidents are registered in the data leak database which is maintained since 2004.
“Our researches are intended to provide organizations with view of the situation and tendencies in confidential data leak,” said Rustem Khayretdinov, InfoWatch’s Deputy Director General. “The researches reveal the steady growth of data security policy violation on enterprises. That is why we provide the survey readers with a comprehensive idea of where and how data leak happens and what should be concluded from this survey.”
