Valuable company information still unprotected

E-mail security still in its infancy:

E-mail is blindly trusted in Finland. Over half of Finnish executives feel that sending confidential information over e-mail is secure. Even though 83% of executives feel there is a need for e-mail confidentiality solutions, only 16% have one in use in their company. A false sense of security over e-mail leads to confidential information such as financial information, client databases and business strategies being sent unsecured over the Internet.

Nearly eight out of ten Finnish company executives estimate most of their communication to be in electronic form. However, most are not aware of the security risks associated with e-mail. Six out of ten CEO's feel e-mail is appropriately secure for sending confidential information. CIO's are more aware of the risks, but still 37% of them are confident about the security of ordinary e-mail.

This information was collected in a study organized by Deltagon Group. 524 participants responded to this study, of which 70% were CEO's. It was made public in a press release earlier today.

Company secrets on a postcard

"Even I sent financial information of a listed company over e-mail", remembers Jarmo Kalliola, former CEO of Aldata and the opening speaker of the press release event. "The comparison between a postcard and a sealed envelope made it clear to me. An unsecured e-mail is as easy to read as a postcard."

Guest speaker Jorma Turunen, CEO of Finpro, agrees. "Many studies have shown the greatest threat comes from inside a company. Most companies have not understood the importance of securing e-mail communications," he says.

No preparation for leaks

Risks associated with e-mail are rarely believed to be serious. For example, most executives do not associate information leak with a possible drop in share prices: less than a third of respondents feel an information leak could lead to a share price drop. Nearly half believe that information leak will not lead to any customer loss. One fourth does not associate information leak with losing market share.

The question of responsibility in case of an information leak is poorly understood. About half of the respondents do not believe a lawsuit would result in the case of an information leak. One third does not even know if a lawsuit is possible in such a case.