Firms fear document tampering

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A majority of IT and finance professionals believe that insider fraud is possible within their organisations, according to a survey conducted by document management company Version One.

Its research of 91 officials from private, public and third sector organisations showed that 67% thought there was a real threat of insider fraud and 25% had witnessed electronic document tampering by a member of staff.

The comparable figures in its survey of five years ago were 73% and 38%.

Version One's managing director Greg Ford said: "The survey results highlight that internal fraud remains a real risk. Although it is encouraging that fewer people appear to be committing and able to commit internal fraud involving business documents, the figures remain alarming."

Of the survey respondents who believe that insider fraud is possible in their organisations, 74% said an electronic document management system would help to prevent it.

Ford said it is necessary to invest in such systems to tackle the threat of fraud. They can apply strict levels of authorisation and make it very difficult for staff to manipulate documents.