The computer security is not all about antiviruses, antispyware technologies or any other software solution being installed on the system. It also refers to users' negligence that often boosts the attacks, data loss or any other leakage concerning private information. According to a research conducted by the Ponemon Institute, 39 percent of the employees included in the questionnaire said they had lost their PDA, their mobile phone or their laptop, all the devices containing private details. What's more impressive is that 51 percent of the IT professionals said they had already copied confidential information onto a USB memory stick, which made the data loss a serious problem in case the device got stolen.

"Data breaches remain the leading cause of financial losses in business, with over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies falling victims to data leakage, and this is not going to change without improvements in the enforcement of data security policies," said Vimal Vaidya, found and chief executive officer at RedCannon, the company that sponsored the survey.

"This study clearly indicates key data management practices that have a serious impact on data security and regulatory compliance, and highlights ways organizations can bolster policy enforcement and reduce the risks of potential data loss," it is added in a press release published on the official website of the Ponemom Institute.

In addition, no less than 45 percent of the employees said they had access web-based email accounts from the workplace computers, whereas the same percentage admitted they downloaded personal software on the workstation. Disabling the security features on the work computers was a popular activity for 17 percent of the respondents, while no less than 46 percent of the employees said they had shared passwords with other colleagues.

"Privacy and data protection are meaningless if they do not address the full spectrum of threats and if they are not enforced, and our research points to an urgent need to address this pervasive vulnerability in corporate data security programs," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder, Ponemom Institute.