CorpComms Magazine

Two thirds of employees in the UK would intentionally read an email that was not intended for them, as more than three quarters are unaware of proposed changes to privacy and data protection laws in the EU, according to recent research by security service provider Proofpoint.

The survey found that 46 per cent of respondents had received an email not intended for them, but just 55 per cent would directly notify the sender of their error.

More than two fifths of respondents had received training in data and privacy protection, yet 17 per cent had sent sensitive information in an email without additional security measures such as password protection or encryption in place. These people were aware of the sensitive nature of the data but did not use appropriate tools to protect it.

More than a quarter of respondents had sent work-related data via their personal email accounts, which are not protected by 'advanced security and message archiving systems'.

Proofpoint's director of marketing Paul Hennin said: 'Marketing organisations today face a complex and evolving set of data protection and privacy considerations. Managers need to ensure that compliant collaboration is possible. Workers should be enabled to work flexibly, for example by supporting consumer devices like iPads on corporate networks and opening multiple channels of communication including email, collaboration tools and social media.'

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