Subscribe to this blog

With the high number of layoffs that have occurred over the past year or two, companies are seeing a surge in data theft from their employees. According to an article published in The Washington Post, “Nearly 60 percent of employees who quit a job or are asked to leave are stealing company data.” It is a very gray area amongst employees as most feel they have a legitimate right to take their client information with them. Companies need to ensure that employees understand the policy on data theft either by initiating a non-disclosure agreement or stipulating this information contractually so there is no question as to the ownership of company information.

These gray areas occur as more employees find themselves working remotely from home via their own personal computers. Employees feel that since information is being kept on their personal property, they are entitled to the information they gather and store. For employees who feel they are permitted to take company information with them, they are posing potential legal risks for their new employers. The article went on to note, “Sixty-five percent of those who took data form their former employer grabbed e-mail lists. The next most frequently stolen data included non-financial business information (45 percent), customer contact lists (39 percent), employee records (35 percent) and financial information (16 percent).”

I would like to be able to give people the benefit of the doubt and say maybe they really don’t think they are causing any harm; however, realistically most employees commit data theft for their own spiteful reasons. People know they are not entitled to steal information from their company and they just don’t care. At the end of the day, they are simply thieves.

Follow us on Twitter for our latest blog updates and background screening news!