2013 Shred-It Security Tracker Reveals No Noticeable Improvement from 2012 in Information Security Among Small and Large-Sized Companies

Toronto, ON - A recent survey of Canadian small business owner and C-Suite level executives conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Shred-It reveals that there has been little improvement in data security measures of small and larger sized companies since 2012.

While most C-suites (95%, no change from 2012) are `aware' (49% very/46% somewhat) of the legal requirements of storing, keeping, or disposing of confidential data in their industry, 5% (no change) are `not aware' (1% not at all/4% not very). This awareness dips when focusing on small business owners. Three in four (78%, up 2 points from 2012) small business owners are `aware' (40% very/38% somewhat) of these legal requirements, while nearly one in four (22%, down 2 points) are `not aware' (7% not at all/15% not very).

When it comes to having a protocol for storing and disposing of confidential data, C-suites in larger industries are more much more likely to have such protocols. Nine in ten (92%, no change) C-suite respondents indicate having a protocol that is either strictly adhered to by all employees (35%) or one that not all employees are aware of (57%), compared to six in ten (57%, up 2 points) small business owners who have a protocol adhered by all (46%) or one that not all are aware of (11%). Four in ten (40%, down 2 points) small business owners, however, indicate there is no protocol at all for their company, compared to only 6% (no change) of C-suite respondents and their organizations.

Information-Security Training

C-Suite respondents are also more likely to say their organization provides regular training in regards to their company's information-security procedures and protocols. Majority (55%, down 6 points) of C-Suites indicate that their company provides such training at least once a year compared to less than two in ten (16%, no change) small business owners. Those in larger businesses (16%, up 1 point) are also more likely to only provide this training once during an employee's tenure at their company as opposed to small business owners (7%, up 1 point), although small business owners are much more likely to only provide this training on an ad-hoc basis (44% vs. 24% C-Suite). One in three (33%, up 2 points) small business owners cite never providing this training compared to only 5% (up 5 points) of C-Suite respondents.

Data Security Employees

While C-Suite respondents indicate that their organization is more likely to provide training on proper procedures and protocols, they also have more employees at senior levels directly responsible for managing data security issues. Majority of C-Suites (61%, down 3 points) say their business has an employee at either the management (56%) or board (5%) level looking after these issues, compared to nearly half (48%, no change) of small business owners who cite the same (34% management/12% board). Two in ten (19%, down 10 points) C-Suite respondents say their business has someone at the employee level with only 6% (down 1 point) of small-business owners having someone at the employee level. Only two in ten (19%, up 13 points) C-Suites indicate that they have no employee looking after data security issues compared to nearly half (45%, down 2 points) of small business owners.

Data Breaches and Financial Losses

The reason for C-Suites citing more training and more employees on these issues might be due to the fact they're more likely to have suffered a company data breach. Eight in ten (79%, up 1 point) small business owners have never suffered a data breach compared to just four in ten (38%, up 4 points) C-Suite respondents working in larger organizations. Among those who have suffered a breach, 18% (no change) of C-Suite respondents and 16% (no change) of small business owners cite no financial losses due to these breaches. Three in ten (29%, no change) C-Suite respondents believe their loss to be less than $500,000 while 15% believe this loss to be more than $500,000 (up 12 pts.) compared to just 5% (down 1 point) of small business owners who cite losses of less than $500,000 and only 1% with losses more than $500,000 (up 1 point).

Current Method of Disposing Aging/Obsolete Hardware

While noticeable differences between C-Suite respondents and small business owners on matters of security training, employees, and data breaches are apparent, there is relatively little difference between the two when it comes to disposing of old hardware.

18% (down 4 points) of C-Suites, compared to 14% (down 1 point) of small business owners, crush or destroy hardware completely, while two in three (68%, up 14 points) and six in ten (57%, up 2 points) small business owners have contents erased, wiped or degaussed, then recycle the hardware. Two in ten (18%, up 1 point) small business owners simply recycle their obsolete hardware, while one in ten (12%, down 6 points) of C-Suite respondents indicate that their company does the same. One in ten (12%, up 2 points) small business owners don't know how their old hardware is disposed of compared to just 2% (down 4 points) of C-Suite respondents.

Interestingly, C-Suite respondents (60%) are more likely to say that wiping or degaussing hard drives is enough to protect their company's information, compared to four in ten (42%) small business owners. One in four small business owners (25%) and C-Suite (28%) respondents don't believe that wiping and degaussing is enough, while one in ten (12%) C-Suite respondents and one in three (33%) small business owners don't know if it is.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid survey conducted between April 16th to 23rd, 2013, on behalf of Shred-It. For this survey, a sample of 1,003 Canadian small business owners and 100 C-Suite level executives from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points had all Canadian small business owners been surveyed, and within +/- 11.2 percentage points had all Canadian C-Suite level executives in Canada been surveyed. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416.572.4474
[email protected]

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