security
Keep It to
Yourself
HR LEADERS
PLAY A KEY ROLE
IN ENSURING
EMPLOYEES
UNDERSTAND THE
RISKS AROUND
CONFIDENTIAL DATA
By Andrew Lenardon
New research confirms what many business and HR leaders
have been thinking for some time – that despite the
fact that human error is considered among the greatest
risks to information security, very few organizations
are implementing training programs and establishing protocols to
help employees recognize these risks.
According to the 2016 Shred-it Security Tracker Survey, 41
per cent of Canadian large business C-suite executives and nearly
half (47 per cent) of small business owners (SBOs) recognize
that human error and lack of employee knowledge concerning
information security protocols are the biggest future threats to
their company.
However, Canadian businesses are not prioritizing employee
training and auditing of company information security procedures
and industry legal requirements. According to the study, only 31
per cent of C-suite executives say they train employees more than
once a year on their industry’s legal compliance requirements.
Results are similar on the small business front, with 39 per cent
of SBOs reporting they never train employees on legal compliance
or company information security procedures and 31 per cent only
conduct training on an ad-hoc/as-needed basis.
These findings should be of great concern for Canadian businesses,
as they highlight a number of significant security challenges
for organizations of any size. With limited training on information
security procedures, employees are forced to make the decision as
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HRPATODAY.CA ❚ SEPTEMBER 2016 ❚ 45