In a recent survey carried out by the data security industry, 70% of employees planned to take confidential company data with them when they leave that company. Nearly three quarters had already taken corporate information from past employers.

More than half said they felt entitled to take the information, with customer data, HR, marketing and intellectual property data among the material that walked out the door with them. Most people leaving their jobs suddenly believed they had rightful ownership to that data just by virtue of their employment. More than three quarters of those questioned said their employers either had no policies in place for removing data from laptops when staff left, or they were unaware of any.

A similar number held company information on their home or mobile computers, but USB memory sticks, mobile phones and other portable storage devices were all used to take away corporate data.

It is essential that every size of company has a data policy as part of its Company Handbook, so every employee knows what they can and take. So again, who is walking away with your company data?