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Office workers across Britain are putting their careers, personal reputation and even their entire company at risk by leaving confidential documents on printer trays, according to research released today by Lexmark, the printing solutions provider.
71% of British workers admit to having left or found a confidential document on the network printer at least once. What’s more, almost three quarters (74%) have been worried about the security of their printed confidential documents.
When questioned about the personal consequences of leaving confidential documents on a printer tray, 85% predicted their image and personal reputation could be damaged – a further 26% admitted that they could have lost their job by leaving a confidential document on a printer tray.
Financial impact
The security risk of documents left on a printer tray can be huge financially, with 24% of British respondents estimating it could amount to over €100,000. In smaller companies the proportionate impact could be devastating – almost a fifth (19%) of European employees in companies of less than 50 people estimate the risk to be in excess of €100,000, a cost which could destroy a small business.
The public sector is most at risk from damaging its corporate image or reputation by leaving confidential documents on the printer tray. Over half (53%) of respondents in the industry highlighted this as a potential risk compared to just 35% in the retail sector. Customer satisfaction is most perceived to be at risk in the healthcare and social work industry with 62% of respondents identifying it as a risk. Those in the retail industry seem most concerned about the human resources implications of leaving confidential documents on the printer tray, including losing their job and career development, with 58% citing it as a risk.
Lack of awareness
Worryingly, half (50%) of British office workers aren’t aware of any procedures to prevent the risk.
42% of respondents claim they’d be proactive to put procedures in place to prevent confidential documents being left on the printer tray and 46% said they would follow these.
Lexmark is working to raise awareness of the security issue and has developed tailored solutions to help businesses protect confidential and sensitive documents. For example, simple solutions – such as Lexmark’s Confidential Print feature which requires employees to enter a PIN number to retrieve a document from the printer – can significantly help increase document security.
Anatomy of a printer tray
From CVs to sensitive client information, all manner of confidential documents are left lying on printer trays every day. The research reveals the most commonly found sensitive documents on a printer tray are work-related employee information, at 55%. 47% admitted to leaving or finding personal information, 49% left or found sensitive company information and a further third (33%) left or found sensitive client information on the printer.
Security-conscious Spaniards
On average, a huge 64% of European office workers confessed to having left or found a confidential or sensitive document on a printer tray. The UK is the least security conscious with a massive 71% of people coming across or carelessly leaving sensitive documents on the printer tray - Spain is the most security conscious with 57% of respondents admitting to this - although the figures are still worryingly high.
“The results of this study highlight just what a high risk printed documents left lying on a printer tray can pose to businesses. We understand the importance of security to companies of all sizes and have worked to develop practical solutions for businesses,” says Mark Seaman, SMB director for Lexmark.
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