Millions 'have peeked at secret documents'

Thursday, 12 June 2008 12:00

High-level government officials are not the only ones to leave sensitive documents lying around, according to a survey.

Over three million workers - 11 per cent of the working population - have read confidential or sensitive documents while traveling on public transport, insurer RSA claims has found.

In addition, 868,000 UK employees are estimated to have left work documents or devices in a sensitive place.

And if you do take documents where people can see them, do not imagine the public would turn a blind eye - 43 per cent of the UK population said they would take a look at someone else's private documents given the opportunity.

Paul Greensmith, director of risk solutions at RSA, said: "The research shows that we live in an inquisitive society where a significant number of people will nosily read over their neighbour's shoulder given the chance.

"What's more, there are an alarming number of cases of confidential documents being left in public, potentially exposing customer details or sensitive company information to a large unknown audience.

"Companies must act immediately to address these risks by setting clear standards on how employees manage customer sensitive data and communicating them regularly."

A senior civil servant was suspended today after leaving an intelligence dossier on a commuter train.

The papers, which are said to list al-Qaida vulnerabilities, were handed into the BBC by a member of the public.

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