One In 10 IT Pros Claim to Have Access to Accounts From Previous Jobs According to New Study

A new survey conducted by Quest Software and Harris Interactive examines how IT professionals and employees view the use of policies and technologies to manage and protect users’ electronic identities. The results underscore how these technologies, or lack thereof, are making it more difficult for employees to get their jobs done, and how they are causing greater concern about insider threats to IT security.  

• Key research findings, based on two surveys of more than 1,000 employees and 500 IT decision-makers in the U.S., include:  
  • 51 percent of IT professionals report they are concerned about insider threats to network security in their company’s current infrastructure.
  • One in 10 IT professionals admit they have accounts from previous jobs, from which they can still access systems even though they’ve left the organization.
  • 52 percent of employees admit that they’ve shared their work log-ins and passwords with other co-workers, and vice versa.
  • One in four IT professionals spend more than 30 minutes per day logging into different websites and databases they need for work.
  • 65 percent of workers contact the help desk or IT department at least once per month when they can’t access a system needed for work.
  • 94 percent of IT professionals say it is important to be able to manage access, user identities and passwords quickly and efficiently.
  • 90 percent of IT professionals agree that companies need to do more to manage and protect users’ electronic identities. 88 percent say identity and access management is an important mechanism to increase security in companies
  • More than a third (34 percent) of IT professionals say their companies don’t realize the value of identity and access management technology as an integral part of their arsenal of security tools.

“The management of electronic identities and access has emerged as a significant pain point in the minds of workers and IT professionals, and as a new front line of defense in IT security. Identity and access management is an important mechanism for increasing security in companies, and makes accessing information in databases, applications and websites safer and more efficient. With our announcement of the updated Quest One Identity Solution today, our customers can simplify identity and access management by reducing the number of identities, automating identity administration, and basing identity management on existing investments.”

Jackson Shaw, Sr. Director of Product Management, Quest Software