The average cost of a data breach in the United States is $188 per record, making the average organizational cost more than $5.4 million, according to the Ponemon Institute’s 2013 Cost of Data Breach Study. About two-thirds of data breaches are caused by human errors and system problems. It’s no question that the BYOD trend, tied with the use of consumer file sharing services in the workplace, has many companies security-conscious about their corporate assets.
The study illustrates the potential security risks associated with consumer file sharing services, but the legal ramifications of signing up for these services can also hurt your company. Employees do not realize that they are signing agreements on behalf of their organization, or that they are potentially violating compliance standards. This has led some corporate counsels and intellectual property security directors to eliminate the use of file sharing services entirely.
New Expectations
Outlawing these services might solve security issues for now, but it’s the wrong long-term solution. File sharing and synchronization services have permanently changed the way we work. They affect employees, partners, and customers at every level of the company, and employees are becoming accustomed to work anywhere on their mobile phones and tablets. Since the introduction of these file sharing services, the percentage of enterprise users has steadily increased from 5% in 2010 to an expected 45% in 2014.
New Requirements
More enterprises are realizing the need to review their file sharing policies with the goal of safeguarding and controlling the flow of confidential data. It’s a critical time for businesses to align their employee and customer expectations to deliver an enterprise standard for file sharing. Having a strategy in place benefits both the business and the user by preventing breaches, legal issues, and the associated costs while keeping up with mobile trends.
To learn more about the key steps to take in implementing a file sharing service built for your company, read this solution brief.
