Despite having the capacity to protect corporate data, more than half of non-IT managers in the U.S. disable laptop data encryption, according to a new survey by Vancouver's Absolute Software and the U.S.-based Ponemon Institute.
The data suggests that user behaviour is just as important, if not more so, than the ability of data encryption to protect sensitive corporate data stored on mobile devices.
The results should be an eye-opener for most businesses with mobile devices, because 92% of IT security managers report that someone in their organization has had a laptop lost or stolen and 71% report that it resulted in a corporate data breach.
The survey found that many business managers fail to take precautions to secure their laptops, such as using additional security software, and are overly dependent on encryption programs.
Just over half of business managers who have access to the most sensitive corporate data have encryption provided by their employer; 57% either keeping a written record of their encryption password or share it with others in case they forget it.
Only 45% of IT security personnel report that their organization was able to prove the contents of missing laptops was encrypted.