ByDavey Winder,
Senior Contributor.
What is the biggest cybersecurity risk when it comes to cybercriminals stealing your data? Go on, have a guess. According to the latest warning from security experts, it’s not credential theft, nor zero-day exploits, and phishing wouldn’t be right either. Nope, the security researchers at LayerX have warned it’s something far more insidious, and I’d wager something that you’ve already done today. Here’s why you should think twice before hitting Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V.
When it comes to enterprise-based data security, the general rule of thumb, a new LayerX research report said, data loss protection was focused on the uploading and sharing of files. This is unsurprising, not least, Or Eshed, the LayerX CEO pointed out, “38% are uploading files to file-sharing platforms; 41% of files uploaded there contain Personally Identifiable Information or Payment Card Industry” data. It’s what Eshed said next, however, that surprised me and will likely surprise you: “Uploads are no longer the dominant risk, the clipboard is.”
The new research, part of the LayerX Browser Security Report for 2025, has concluded that the majority of sensitive data now leaves the enterprise by way of copy and paste. Oh, how the mighty Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V combo has fallen. Specifically, Eshed said, copy and paste into “unmanaged browser accounts, prompts, chat and instant messenger tools.”
