The Security of Paper Documents in the Workplace study, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by the Alliance for Secure Business Information (ASBI)  dispels the myth that the cause of most or all data breaches is lost or stolen electronic documents.

In the study, the vast majority of respondents polled (80 percent) indicated their company had experienced one or more data breaches in the past 12 months alone. Forty-nine percent stated that one or more of these data breaches involved the loss or theft of paper documents.

Key findings from the study also revealed the need for companies to take tighter control on how they manage their paper trail through stronger enforcement policies.  For example:

• According to 56 percent of respondents, more than half of their organizations’ sensitive or confidential information is contained within paper documents (Bar Chart 4)
• Sixty-one percent of those surveyed stated there are not enough resources and controls available to secure paper documents
• Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported that it is more difficult to control access to paper documents than it is to control access to electronic documents
• Nearly half (41 percent) of respondents are uncertain whether their organization has a strict policy in place for securing paper documents

The survey sample consisted of 819 individuals who work in IT operations, IT security, data protection and compliance in large organizations in a variety of industries. Respondents in this sample were selected randomly for the study because of their experience and expertise in assisting their organizations’ secure, sensitive and confidential information and are considered the most informed about risks associated with lost or stolen paper documents. Each respondent worked in an organization that had at least one data breach.