While the security risks associated with sensitive files and documents have been around for as long as sensitive files and documents have existed, a confluence of today's corporate environmentbusinesses are increasingly relying on mobile workers and collaboration between geographically dispersed workers and business partnersand technologies like mobile devices and browser-based file-sharing applications have increased the scope of the risk.

"A lot of the issues have been around for a while, but the playing field has changed," says Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of research think tank , which last week released its 2012 Confidential Documents at Risk Study, a survey of 622 IT and security practitioners with an average of more than 11 years of experience. "Everyone wants to connect and they want to do it anywhere and immediately."

Common Practices That Put Information at Risk

Common business practices, frequently leveraged by employees seeking to be more productive, are often responsible for putting information at risk. Five scenarios are among the most common, according to the Ponemon Institute's study. The scenarios are as follows:

Employees attach and send confidential documents in clear text from the workplace using Web-based personal email accounts. The Ponemon Institute's survey found that 68 percent of respondents believe this happens frequently or very frequently, and 71 percent say it results in the loss or theft of confidential documents.