Report: Companies face a 37% chance of losing IP when employees quit

A new report from Code42 found that businesses are concerned “The Great Resignation” is a catalyst for departing employees to expose, unknowingly leak, or exfiltrate intellectual property (IP).

There’s a one in three (37%) chance a company loses IP when an employee quits. In the wake of The Great Resignation, this means companies are facing increased chances of sensitive data leaving their organization. Additionally, 71% of cybersecurity leaders and practitioners report not knowing what and how much sensitive data departing employees are taking to new organizations. Though 96% of companies note they’re experiencing challenges protecting corporate data from insider risk, ownership of the problem is murky.

Additionally, boards believe they are having the right conversations about insider risk, but they don’t seem to grasp the full extent of the insider risk problem. Eighty-one percent of senior cybersecurity leaders report that insider risks are discussed at every board meeting, yet 91% still believe that their companies’ board requires more understanding of it. It’s further propelling a culture of disconnect where practitioners are left in the dark while cybersecurity leaders fight for a voice in business decisions, as 57% also reported that cybersecurity leaders don’t consult the team in decisions made based on companies’ cybersecurity strategies.

When it comes to pre-IPO companies, 85% indicate that insider risk is a board-level priority with compliance and regulatory requirements and the value of intellectual property in IPO transactions driving the need for Insider Risk Management. The report also found that loss of IP/customer data is more of a concern for companies that have already experienced a merger, acquisition, or divestiture in the past 12 months than it is for companies that are planning one in the future.

Sector-wise, the report found that the public sector and financial services industries are leading the way in insider risk management (84% and 76% respectively). In fact, 58% of companies in the public sector are planning to add new cybersecurity technologies to better monitor file movements.

Code42’s report surveyed 700 respondents from companies in the U.S. and was conducted by independent market research agency Vanson Bourne.

Read the full report by Code42.