More than four in 10 IT professionals are carrying sensitive information on mobile devices unprotected, according to a study by secure storage specialist Origin Storage.

The research also shows 19% revealed that their organisation had suffered a data breach following the loss of a portable device (ie laptop, USB, CD) with 54% disclosing the device had not been encrypted – an offence under the Data Protection Act.

Andy Cordial, Origin’s managing director, says: “When you consider the level of knowledge this audience is assumed to have, working in IT and having some form of security remit, yet the lax protection used for sensitive data, it’s hardly surprising data breaches are increasing in frequency and especially recently in size.”