How To Protect Your Business From Data Leaks Caused By Human Error

Ask most people what they believe to be the most common source of data leaks, and the chances are they’ll point to advanced hacking tools, carefully built computer viruses, spyware, and phishing as the main cause. While there’s little doubt that DDoS attacks and other such activities do contribute to data leaks, the reality behind their frequent appearance in the news is far more ordinary. Below, we explore the most common ways data leaks happen at work, and what you can do to prevent them.

Why Most Data Leaks Start With People, Not Hackers

The truth is, the majority of data leaks are due to mistakes made by people within a company, not spyware from outsiders. In fact, according to Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report, around 60% of all data breaches still involve human error. This shows that, even with growing concerns about malware, everyday mistakes remain the biggest risk.

When you look closer at how these data leaks happen, the causes are surprisingly simple. Common examples include sending emails to the wrong person or accidentally giving someone access to private data they should not see.

With remote and hybrid work now a normal part of business, mistakes outside the office are also more likely. Whatever the reason for the source of data leaks, there’s no doubt that such situations can have serious consequences for a company. Client trust can disappear overnight as a result of data being lost or stolen, while a business’s reputation risks serious damage, and fines or penalties as a result of not following data protection rules can be costly.

Why Data Leaks Are So Common in Everyday Work

You don’t have to look far to see how data leaks and serious errors have become common in modern workplaces. We’ve all probably seen office habits where insecure data-sharing is normal. Think of free file transfer services which offer very little in terms of security protection, or staff members using their personal email accounts at work, or using social media messengers to share information with colleagues.

Another very common issue is the use of weak passwords, which are either not updated regularly or not changed at all. Two-factor authentication, while becoming more common when it comes to online banking and accessing personal social media accounts, still isn’t regularly used where it matters most, like when trying to verify who is being sent sensitive data via email. This accessible security step could have prevented certain well-known data breaches, like the 2024 Snowflake incident, where hackers used stolen login details to access customer data from companies including AT&T and Ticketmaster, largely because multi-factor authentication had not been set up.

There’s a real need for a simple, secure, and reliable way to reduce human error and improve how we protect data. In some industries, people are starting to take data security more seriously. Every part of your company’s activities requires careful attention, from considering the security risks of accepting payments and following best practices for creating strong passwords, to two-factor authentication, to simply double-checking that your emails are going to the right person.

Preventing Leaks Before Clicking ‘Send’

In order for an effective security process to work, companies must think about every step that their communication takes, not only after the information is sent, but also during and before it is sent. The source of data leaks often happens before a message is even sent. This is something every business should keep in mind.

Common causes of data leaks

Four key causes of data leaks include:

• Accidentally attaching files containing sensitive information.
• Failing to use ‘Bcc’ and accidentally sharing recipient contact details.
• Users simply being unaware of the sensitive nature of the data being shared.
• Auto-complete errors that add the wrong recipient.

These kinds of email errors call for user-friendly technology that combines real-time data sorting, user awareness, message checks, and tools that help confirm you are sending to the right person. 

For example, real-time data sorting would mean that the system would check the information being shared while the email is being written (and would apply the same strategy to both the text of the email and any attachments added). This kind of safety-driven technology, combined with a more security-minded company culture and widespread staff awareness, would potentially cut down a huge number of data leaks. While this may not prevent every data breach, such as the Virgin Media incident where a misconfigured database exposed the details of 900,000 customers, it is a strong place to start.

Why Going Fully Digital Helps Prevent Data Leaks

One of the issues which the ICO’s security incident figures highlight is that so many companies, from small businesses to large organisations, continue to use fax and paper communication alongside digital solutions. If human error-driven data links are to be eradicated, then these outdated methods need to be reduced as much as possible. It is surprising that many world governments, legal systems, and healthcare organisations continue to rely on fax machines and letters, despite knowing the risks they carry. 

It has been noted that, with the big increase in home and remote working brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have had to do away with faxing as a form of communication, simply because hardly anyone has a fax machine at home. While it is impossible to say whether or not this has had an impact on data leaks and the threat that they pose, it’s not hard to see how it presents a significant security improvement. 

Secure email is the best, fastest and safest system we currently have for sending personal information with confidence. By turning operations over to secure digital communication and by using secure file transfer tools and secure email hosting, companies can greatly improve their security, cut costs, and speed up communication. 

This kind of clear action, coupled with a company culture that puts the protection of personal data first, is the most practical solution to the risk of leaked data. When your team understands the risks, human error becomes far less likely to lead to a data breach.