Alarming news for those in information security jobs, as a new survey suggests that despite a spate of high profile stories involving the loss of personal data, IT users are still reluctant to implement adequate encryption measures.

In a poll conducted by security specialists Steganos, the company found that 15 per cent of those surveyed did not even know if their data was encrypted or not.

Almost a third of respondents admitted to having lost a USB stick, 78 per cent answered that they had never encrypted an email.

Overall, 71 per cent said they left their data unprotected from the eyes of others, while 28 per cent thought they did not use adequate protection.

Commenting on the findings, managing director of Steganos Michael Marzy says: "The increasing risk of theft means that everyone, be it a home computer user or business user, needs to take responsibility for protecting data, both by encrypting current files and shredding those that are no longer needed."

In a recent example of serious data loss, the Home Office was reprimanded by the Information Commissioner after one of its contractors lost a USB stick containing information on thousands of prisoners.

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