A growing number of workers are intentionally deleting company data before quitting their jobs, but insurance coverages may give companies some recourse.  

That is, if the rage deleter doesn’t get sued by their former employer first, says Gary Hirst, president and CEO of CHES Special Risk. 

One in 20 workers admitted to engaging in ‘rage deletion,’ and Gen Z employees are twice as likely to do so, finds a new report by CrashPlan. 

The five roles most likely to admit to rage deletion are designers and design engineers (11%), writers and editors (9%), programmers and developers (7%) and video producers (7%).  

What’s more, nearly one in six workers say they’ve had a coworker intentionally delete important company data before quitting, according to the survey of more than 2,300 employees. 

Disaffected employees are the main culprits, says Todd Thorsen, CrashPlan’s chief information security officer.  

“The signs of employee disengagement and dissatisfaction show up in the way they use technology,” he says in the report. “It doesn’t usually escalate to sabotage, but our research clearly shows that disengaged employees are less careful with their data.” 

Still, it’s unlikely the trend will take over the insurance claims world, says Hirst, because rage deleters can get into legal trouble for mishandling company data.

“It will only take one court case, and [cost] awards that would perhaps deter others from doing it,” he tells Canadian Underwriter. 

“Most employment contracts nowadays do have a requirement of maintaining data strictly secret, and for them to go ahead and effectively delete that information, I do think is grounds for the employer to seek redress against the employee.”

Technical workarounds

Employers concerned about rage deletion can also find solace in their data back-ups. 

“You may well think that by going into your email inbox and deleting everything, that it’s deleted, but I think many companies nowadays, with the advent of cybercrime, do have substantial backup available,” says Hirst. “So it’s quite easy to reinstate that data.” 

However, if that data can’t be reinstated — CrashPlan finds only 43% of companies have tools to ensure employee data is backed up — firms might be able to call upon their insurers to claim losses. 

There are a few insurance coverages rage deletion might activate. 

First, there’s physical damage. But the cost of the insurance claim would likely be “limited to the reconstitution of data,” says Hirst.  

It could also fall under business interruption, but only if the IT department can’t recover the data within a reasonable time.  

Employee dishonesty coverages, included in commercial crime insurance policies, might also apply.  

Most likely, however, is reputational damage. A claim would be triggered by prolonged periods where data can’t be recovered, thereby impacting customers’ perception of the company. 

“And there are various insurance policies available out there that can protect the image of the corporation with their customers,” says Hirst. 

Another option

Still, the most effective solution to rage deletion may be, simply, rage mitigation. And that’s handled by working towards employee satisfaction. 

Rage deletion is a symptom of an unengaging workplace, CrashPlan’s survey findings show.  

Rage deleters are less likely to look forward to going to work and are significantly less proud of their workplaces. They’re also more likely to feel pressure at work and be concerned about job security. 

Another way to prevent rage deletion, or at least make recovery more likely, is for companies to review their internal protocols. Only 39% of companies provide clear policies for how their software is used. Explaining the risks of rage deletion before it occurs could soften the blow. 

And, of course, companies should review their systems or data backups. Not just for the risk of rage deletion, but ransomware too.  

“Every company has a simple choice — with a few keystrokes their intellectual property or important records can vanish forever, or just as quickly they can restore the data a disgruntled employee intended to destroy,” Thorsen says in the report.

Feature image by iStock.com/Ake Ngiamsanguan