Survey Shows Your Workforce Is Fine with Sharing Sensitive eLearning Data

by CoSo

February 16, 2017

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about eLearning security.

No, it wasn’t about an eLearning session on security (like the first ten posts that come up when search for “eLearning security” on Google). It was about the need for organizations to start taking the matter more seriously.

Think about it. What kind of information gets passed around during virtual training sessions? Information designed to help workers support the organization’s goals. This can include plans to neutralize a competitor. Competitive briefings. Or merger and acquisition information. Or proprietary pharmaceutical drug training. If we’re talking about a government agency, it might include details about our nation’s infrastructure that could be used by an enemy against the state.

But it’s not just the kind of information that renders eLearning content a security risk. It’s the power of the flexibility of the eLearning tools themselves. If you email out an invite to a WebEx conference, how do you know that email wasn’t compromised? What about the numerous people who write their passwords on a sticky note attached to their monitor? How do you know the slides you presented weren’t saved onto a laptop that was later lost? If it’s sensitive information, do attendees have the right NonDisclosure Agreement in place, or appropriate security credentials?

In fact, consider this:

Last month, we surveyed 500 workers about their eLearning experiences. 68% said their training sessions tend to include sensitive company information. Of course, there’s nothing surprising about that. But when we asked them whether they would ever share confidential information from a training session just to help out a friend—regardless of whether he or she worked for a competitor—do you know what we found?

13% of the workers we surveyed wouldn’t have a problem with it

On top of that, 21% weren’t sure whether they had a problem with it. That means 34% of your workforce might not have a problem with sharing your corporate secrets.

It may not be their problem, which now makes it yours.

I will continue to write more about this very important topic, so once again, stay tuned.