Finance and HR employees pose the biggest cybersecurity threat to organizations of any department, according to new research from security firm Clearswift.
The messaging and online security vendor obtained data from 500 data security experts in the UK, US, Germany and Australia to compile its results.
Almost half (48%) of respondents said that finance departments and their employees pose the greatest threat, compared to 42% of HR.
The main reason for their responses was fear for staff members in these roles, who might accidentally send customer or payroll details to the wrong people, or accidentally allow malware to be installed on computers.
Just 16% said they believe those working in legal represent the greatest threat, indicating that employees in HR and Finance departments are believed to be culturally less receptive to cybersecurity risk.
Middle managers (37%) were linked to the highest risk group, compared to just 19% who were considered by senior managers to be the biggest threat, and 12% for executives/managers.
Interestingly, over two-thirds (67%) of respondents argued that those who work in an office represent a greater risk to data security than those who are off-site – mainly because they have easier access to data.
Some 88% of companies surveyed said they had encountered a security-related "incident" in the past, of which 73% were caused by employees, former employees or customers/suppliers, Clearswift said.
The product provider's senior vice president, Guy Bunker, argued that businesses should use a mix of people, policy and technology to eliminate insider risk.
