The bMighty Blog -- IT

You thought your biggest security worry was hackers stealing your company's private information? Think again. A recent survey indicates that IT guys are routinely accessing their companies' private information. Why? Because they can.

A survey by information security company Cyber-Ark of 300 senior IT professionals found that one-third "admitted to secretly snooping, while 47 percent said they had accessed information that was not relevant to their role."

It gets better. An IT administrator is quoted as saying -- laughingly, I might add -- "Why does it surprise you that so many of us snoop around your files, wouldn't you, if you had secret access to anything you can get your hands on?"

Would you?

Of course the survey was done by Cyber-Ark to emphasize the need for companies to use their digital password software. Cyber-Ark's European director, Calum Macleod, is quoted: "Companies need to wake up to the fact that if they don't introduce layers of security, tighten up who has access to vital information, and manage and control privileged passwords, then snooping, sabotage and hacking will continue to be rife."

But there's more to this than just that. Can the IT guys be trusted? How can your company function without that trust? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Manek Dubash of PC World sums it up: "The moral of the story is that if you don't want anyone from the besuited senior IT director to the newest IT admin poking about in your personal data, don't bring it to work."

Spotlight on Solutions

(Sponsored By Cisco)