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More than half (57 per cent) of office employees admit to having lost an office laptop, BlackBerry or USB stick at some point in their careers, according to a recent survey.

Pubs, bars or restaurants are cited as the most common locations, the study by online backup firm Databarracks reported.

More than three quarters (77 per cent) of the 100 office workers canvassed in the survey also confessed to storing personal content such as photos on their office network or computers, despite the risk of malware infection.

According the survey, personal data is often prioritised over company data in the workplace. In the event of an office fire, 77 per cent of respondents indicated they would reach for their personal mobile phones ahead of their work PC.

"This research paints a frightening picture for UK organisations. Almost every business, irrelevant of sector, is reliant on the information stored on its IT network to manage day-to-day operations," said Databarracks managing director Peter Groucutt.

“While employees can be educated to treat corporate data more carefully, human error will always be a factor, so this is not a problem that is going to disappear overnight. More organisations have to start seriously considering secure online backup to protect themselves from unforeseen events.”