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Most ICT staff would steal valuable and company sensitive information if they were laid off, says an international survey.
New Zealand computer forensics experts agree with the survey of 300 ICT professionals conducted at the European Infosecurity 2008 conference - which said 88 per cent admitted that they'd take information.
Brian Eardley-Wilmot of Computer Forensics said that while the number is 'alarmingly high' it shows a clear danger for companies when they dismiss IT staff.
"Many companies are blissfully unaware of the risk they are at, should a disgruntled employee from any department leave the company" said Eardley-Wilmot. "The risk is equally high for large or small companies, and many never know that a theft of data has taken place."
The survey also said that a third of staff admit to 'snooping' around their office networks to access both commercially-sensitive information, and other employee's files.
New Zealand computer forensics experts support the findings of a recent UK survey in which 88 per cent of 300 ICT professionals said they would potentially take valuable and company sensitive information if laid off.
Eardley-Wilmot says it is unlikely the findings would change if the same survey was conducted in New Zealand. He advises that companies should routinely check their systems for misuse.
"If a company suspects an incident might have occurred it is incredibly important that the right steps are taken and experts in the field are called in immediately," he said.
"In our nine years of conducting computer investigations, we have noted that if managers suspect data theft has occurred, 99 per cent of the time they're right!"
