Light-fingered leavers steal employers" data New research from law firm EMW has found that light-fingered leavers are costing minnow companies millions of pounds, with the average legal bill coming in at £30,000, not forgetting the actual cost of data loss. databases are increasingly seeing disgruntled employees copying company databases and other business-critical information. Motivating factors include taking information to impress a future boss, to set up their own business, or to sell data to marketing firms. Mr Finn said: "The boom in cloud computing and the widespread use of services such as Dropbox have made copying a large database something that can be accomplished by virtually anyone in seconds." Small companies are often vulnerable to theft due to their lack of investment in sophisticated firewalls. They are also less likely to have developed employment policy deterring peeved personnel from making off with data. Kris McConkey, a director at accountants PwC, said: "While cloud [computing] is one of the mechanisms causing problems for organisations today, the cause of this uplift in crime is remote access." The ability to enter company systems anywhere at any time makes it easier to download and steal large amounts of confidential data quickly. Employers bringing such civil claims include financial services firms, estate agents and recruitment businesses, which may previously have regarded confidential information breaches as an unfortunate cost of doing business.