Data theft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Data theft is a growing problem primarily perpetrated by office workers with access to technology such as desktop computers and hand-held devices, since employees often spend a considerable amount of time developing contacts and intellectual property for the company they work for they often feel they have some ownership of the property and are inclined to steal part of it when they leave the company or misuse it while they are still in employment.
While most organizations have implemented firewalls and intrusion-detection systems very few take into account the threat from the average employee that steals proprietary data for personal gain or use by another company.[citation needed] A common scenario is where a sales person steals the contact database for use in their next job. Typically this is a clear violation of their terms of employment.
The damage caused by data theft can be considerable with today's ability to transmit very large files via e-mail, web pages, USB devices, DVD storage and other hand-held devices. Removable media devices are getting smaller with increased hard drive capacity, and activities such as podslurping are becoming more and more common. It is now possible to store 40 GB of data on a device that will fit in an employees pocket, data that could contribute to the downfall of a business.
