New Research Uncovers Security and Audit Risks Exposed in Business Documents

The research, sponsored by Workshare, highlights the need for businesses to improve Document Integrity processes in order to reduce the security, compliance, accuracy and efficiency issues associated with business documents in an increasingly email-centric world. The research, gathered from 300 businesses across the UK, US and Australia by independent research consultancy, Vanson Bourne, uncovers how risks, such as inadvertent exposure of document hidden information (i.e., metadata), lack of process auditability, inaccuracies through review cycles and significant resource drains created throughout the document process are pervasive across many industries today. The report reveals: - Over exposed – Up to 75% of business documents contain legally sensitive information - Ignorance of risk – 90% of business users have no awareness of potentially damaging, hidden information (metadata) that resides in amended documents - Accountability gaps – Only 40% of individual’s contributions end up in a final version, creating significant gaps in the document audit trail - Worse than spam – Business users spend more email time handling email-attached business documents than dealing with spam - Amendment hell – Business professionals spend on average 2.5 hours in amendment and approval hell, tackling emailed document attachments - Stare and compare – There is a lack of faith in the existing technology available to manage document changes, with 82% of business users still preferring to use hard copy documents for in complex approval processes With auditing and data capture increasing in importance as a result of legislation such as Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II, Companies Act and the Freedom of Information Act (UK) there is a mounting case for companies to maintain tighter control on document compliance and security. The Risk of Sharing report reveals a lack of awareness and potential gaps in existing processes that present immediate challenges for companies that recognise the need for action in this area.