The biggest security threat is… you

Poll: So don't touch that keyboard

Published: 4 February 2009 11:32 GMT by Steve Ranger

Tags: hacker, phishing

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Forget hackers lurking in dark corners of the internet - the biggest threat to the IT security of an organisation is its own staff.

According to a recent poll of silicon.com readers, nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of those surveyed said the biggest security threat to companies is malicious and/or incompetent staff.

Of the other four options, losing data on laptops or USB keys was rated the second biggest security risk, chosen by one in five (21 per cent) of respondents - although of course it may have been malicious or incompetent staff responsible for the lost USB key or laptop.

Viruses (nine per cent), hackers (four per cent) and phishing scams (four per cent) were all seen as far less of a risk than disgruntled or inept staff in the poll of silicon.com readers.