Daily Market Update - December 19, 2014

Employees with access to sensitive information are big data risk… Uber focuses on risk with new head of safety… Partnership aims to improve international safety standards in mining…

Risk Management News

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Employees with access to sensitive information are big data risk
Data breaches are not uncommon but the most high-profile incidents are from outside hackers, usually from overseas. However businesses are also at risk from inside their own walls due to the amount of sensitive information seen by their employees. While access to this data is often critical to their role 71 per cent of respondents in a recent survey say that have access to data that they shouldn’t see with more than half saying this is a common occurrence. The survey commissioned by Varonis Systems and conducted by the Ponemon Institute suggests that most organizations are having difficulty balancing the need for improved security with employee productivity demands. Employees with needlessly excessive data access privileges represent a growing risk for organizations due to both accidental and conscious exposure of sensitive or critical data. 4 in 5 IT practitioners (80 per cent) say their organizations don't enforce a strict least-privilege (or need-to-know) data model and 48 per cent say they either permit end users to use public cloud file sync services or permission is not required.
 
Uber focuses on risk with new head of safety
Uber has appointed its first global head of safety. The move follows concerns that drivers could pose a threat to passenger safety, especially after a women was allegedly raped by a driver in India bringing the firm’s background checks policy into question. Uber suspended operations in the country pending a review of its vetting systems. Although it already had a safety team in place, the hire of Philip Cardenas from Airbnb is an important step as it puts risk management at a senior executive level. He has already started a review of the ride-share service’s safety procedures and the company is set to unveil improvements in the New Year.
 
Partnership aims to improve international safety standards in mining
A partnership in Canada is aiming to improve the safety standards for miners worldwide. International Minerals Innovation Institute, the University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Polytechnic will work together over the next two years to research how the culture and practices in the sector can be improved to enhance safety. They will be working with six Canadian mining companies and will gain a valuable insight into how mine workers view safety. 

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