Aussie employees more likely to violate data policies

Australian employees are more likely than the global average to violate organisational data policies, according to a new report from zero trust data security company Rubrik.

The report found that 20% of Australian security executives said people within their organisations were definitely accessing data in violation of data policies, compared to 11% globally. Meanwhile, almost three times as many Australian boards and C-suites only receive data security updates when there is a material issue (11%) compared to the global average (4%). Australia also had the lowest instance of senior decision-makers receiving updates at least monthly, at 4%.

On average, Australian organisations have 5.7 million sensitive data records, the report estimates.

The report also found that 88% of Australian IT and security leaders believe their organisation’s current data growth is outpacing their ability to secure data and manage risk, compared with a global average of 66%.

The most widely reported data types compromised in Australia included account numbers (42%), authentication keys (35%), corporate financial data (35%) and intellectual property (35%).

Rubrik APAC VP Antoine Le Tard said Australian attitudes towards work are putting organisations at greater cyber risk.

“In my experience, Australians go above and beyond to innovate in order to get the best outcome for their customers and the business. This desire to help as quickly as possible and remove friction from the customer relationship can sometimes lead to a liberal interpretation of organisational procedures and policies,” she said. “While their heart is in the right place, we now live in an age in which cyber attackers are constantly looking for any inroads they can find — so it’s clear data security policies are a corner that should never be cut.”

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