Brazilian office workers delegate information security to employers

Most Brazilian office workers trust their employers to protect their personal information - even though most use corporate equipment for personal activities, according to research.

Some 66 percent of Brazilian corporate workers believe that their employers are responsible for ensuring data security, according to the report by Intel Security, which also states that 78 percent of those polled in Brazil are confident that businesses are doing what is required in that respect.

The report also suggests that most Brazilian professionals use corporate devices to carry out personal activities such as checking emails (84 percent), online banking (52 percent) or online shopping (34 percent).

In addition, 65 percent of Brazilians polled for the survey use their personal smartphone for work, while 38 percent use their personal laptops for work matters - and while doing so, 49 percent connect their devices to Wi-fi networks even without knowing whether they are secure or not.

Intel Security heard 2,500 people in the US, UK, Spain, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Japan, India, Mexico and Brazil, where 200 people were surveyed.

According to separate research from FireEye, while companies are taking less time to discover data breaches, using staff impersonation and social engineering to tap into the most common weakness in the security chain - employees - is a common cyberattack tactic.