74 Percent of IT Pros Admit to Network Snooping

[Darth Sushi]

74 Percent of IT Pros Admit to Network Snooping
July 12, 2010 by Jane McEntegart - source: Tom's Hardware US

" IT professionals may carry a great amount of power, but with great power comes great responsibility.

A recent study by Cyber-Ark has revealed that an increasing number of IT professionals are using their administrative powers to access information not relevant to their role.

Cyber-Ark surveyed 400 IT professionals about how they use their privileged accounts. The survey found that 64 percent of UK IT professionals admitted to accessing information not relevant to their role, while 74 percent of U.S. IT pros admitted to doing the same. Further, 41 and 40 percent (UK and U.S. respectively) admitted they had used their admin password to access information considered to be confidential or particularly sensitive.

The fact that 67 percent of UK respondents and 78 percent of U.S. respondents say their privileged accounts are monitored does barely anything to pacify concerns when Cyber-Ark reports that 53 percent (UK) and 74 percent (US) have the ability to get around controls put in place to monitor access.

Asked what they would take if they knew they were going to be fired in the morning, only 30 percent of UK respondents said nothing. The U.S. respondents seemed a little more loyal to their employers, with 64 percent saying they'd take nothing. Of the 70 percent of British and 36 percent of Americans who said they would take something, the most prominent choice was the database (16 percent in both countries). Also on the list were privileged passwords, the email server admin account, financial reports, the CEO's password and R&D plans.

Those surveyed said they believed the people working IT departments were most likely to snoop around the network.

Have you ever snooped around on the network at work? Let us know in the comments below! "

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/IT-...ork,10840.html

[bobmacans]

The report could be possible and the government should take an action for it.

[Halogen]

Have you ever snooped around on the network at work? Let us know in the comments below!

No, I haven't. But since everybody else is doing it, maybe I should?

[darkstate01]

One of the admin privileges in exchange is to read all in or outging mails that come and go in a company, So can you imagine the info you can harvest from the execs all the way down to the simple secretary.

Thats just one example an I.T admin has, The database is another softspot having total control of whats in therem making a backup of the database is a regular occurrence and someone making a backup for themselves isn't very suss as they could just say there are doing a daily backup.

Its happy days being an admin listening to whinging people yapping about the end of their world just because they have lost there pictures folder full of there holidays snaps.