New algorithms have also been added to bolster PacketSure's ability to detect when structured data such as credit card and account numbers is traveling over any unsecured network protocol, including instant messaging, peer-to-peer, FTP and Web-based e-mail, he said.

Such products address growing corporate concerns over data compromise and the inappropriate use of sensitive information by insiders, said Dan Keldsen, an analyst at Delphi Group, a Perot Systems Corp. company in Boston. "There is a lot of content lying around in desktops and laptops and other devices that is effectively unmanaged," he said.

Sensitive data can be located in databases, spreadsheets, Zip files, laptops and network storage devices. But most of the time companies aren't aware of all the places on a network where sensitive data may exist or how it's being used, he said.

In a Delphi survey done in March, nearly 40% of 485 respondents said they had no idea whether sensitive information had been improperly accessed over the past two years. About 20% said that such data had been improperly accessed by both internal and external parties.

"Rather than waiting for a random audit or for someone to download [sensitive data] to a thumb drive, it's better to be proactive" and take steps to protect it, Keldsen said.