Ricoh’s research finds less than half of those surveyed think document security has improved since 2009, with many believing it has worsened.
Ricoh UK has published research into document security that reveals that many UK and European financial services firms are concerned about document security, with two thirds of those surveyed claiming that they are unable to audit access to documents, thus lacking control over who is able to access information, despite 63 percent having document management targets in place.
According to the research, the Ricoh Document Governance Index, 47 percent of participants believe that security is better today than in 2009, and 26 percent think it is less effective than it was four years ago.
The findings come at a time when the financial services industry is under increasing pressure to manage growing amounts of information, with many customers demanding interaction through digital channels. There are also complex national and international regulations in place which document processes must comply with, requiring them to be more transparent, enable stricter reporting and allow comprehensive audit trails.
Rick Hewitt, Finance Director at Ricoh UK, said: “In the financial services sector – perhaps more than any other industry – the two worlds of digital and paper-based documents are colliding as regulatory change and evolving customer habits force organisations in the UK to rethink the way they manage critical information, fast. This is one of the most heavily regulated of all industries, yet this struggle to overcome document security challenges highlights just how complex the effective management of document processes has become.”
HP has also spoken out about security issues among today’s businesses, claiming that many businesses follow a “check box” approach with no understanding of “hackers’ resources and capabilities”.