While most organizations have implemented firewalls and intrusion-detection systems very few take into account the threat from the average employee that copies proprietary data for personal gain or use by another company.[citation needed] A common scenario is where a sales person makes a copy of the contact database for use in their next job. Typically this is a clear violation of their terms of employment.
The damage caused by data theft can be considerable with today's ability to transmit very large files via e-mail, web pages, USB devices, DVD storage and other hand-held devices. Removable media devices are getting smaller with increased hard drive capacity, and activities such as podslurping are becoming more and more common. It is now possible to store more than 160 GB of data on a device that will fit in an employee's pocket, data that could contribute to the downfall of a business.
