68% of professionals are exposing their businesses’ most confidential information by failing to remove hidden data from documents they share with customers, suppliers, or colleagues, according to research released today by Workshare. The survey of 800 global knowledge workers uncovers the stark reality of businesses allowing valuable content to fall into the wrong hands by not providing employees with secure tools for detecting and removing hidden data (metadata).
Metadata can include hidden sensitive information in Excel, comments or track changes left in Word, and notes left in PowerPoint.
The research rings alarm bells for business leaders and IT groups, as despite 94% recognizing the commercial value some documents have, only 1 in 5 use secure methods to share them.
Anthony Foy, CEO at Workshare commented, “Businesses must regain control and stem the flow of highly confidential information leaving the enterprise. In a bid to safeguard businesses’ most valuable assets, Workshare has developed a free educational tool for users to detect hidden data in documents and eliminate risk when sharing corporate content.”