Accidental security incidents involving workers happen more frequently and have the greater potential for negative impact than malicious insider attacks, according to new research from RSA. The poll of 400 top level execs in the UK, France, Germany and the US casts doubt on the conventional wisdom that malicious insiders are the greatest single threat to an organisation.

Accidental security breaches, inappropriate access and misuse of information by workers posed a greater threat to organisations' bottom lines than malicious insiders. However, security spending often focused on technologies designed more to thwart malicious insiders than accidental breaches. IDC concludes that organisations ought to apply a comprehensive risk management-based approach to information security, rather than firefighting security problems.