A survey has revealed that approximately 40% of IT staff admitted that they could hold their employers’ data hostage. Venafi who conducted the survey discovered that firms who mismanage their encryption keys could fall victims to disgruntled former employees hiding or withholding encryption keys to the detriment of the firms.
A third of respondents stated that their knowledge of and access to encryption keys and certificates, used for both system authentication and data protection, means that they are capable of bringing the company to a grinding halt with minimal effort and little to stop them.
The threat has been attributed to lack of oversight and poor management of encryption keys and certificates. The survey shows that 82% of businesses surveyed now use digital certificates and encryption keys, however an increasing 43% admit to being locked out of their own information due to the misplacement of their encryption keys.
Jeff Hudson, CEO at Venafi remarking on the findings said that “encryption is only half the solution. IT departments must track where the keys are and monitor and manage who has access to them.” Hudson observed that, “this survey reveals that organisations need to quickly come to terms with how crucial encryption keys are to safeguarding the entire enterprise.”
Karrie Kehoe
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