Almost a third (30%) of employers send confidential information via standard email attachment or unsecured in the body of an email, according to a survey by recruitment software firm InvisiViewmedia.com.

The survey also shows that 23% convert documents into PDF format before emailing and 45% use the recorded delivery postal service.  Only 2% would use a fax machine to send such information.

Almost half worry about information getting into the wrong hands. A quarter claim that the risk of their information being stolen is too small to worry about, while 13% are willing to take the risk and 16% think the methods they use are quite safe.

Jan Gunner, director at InvisiViewmedia.com, says: “Considering how clued-up most businesses are today when it comes to protecting their confidential information, it is quite alarming to discover a complacent attitude when it comes to sending sensitive content.”