As the European Union prepares to make changes to its data security and compliance regulations, managers are realizing the difficulty associated with making adjustments to their current business practices. According to a recent Proofpoint survey, employee negligence is a major factor that leads to data breaches and the exposure of sensitive information.

The study found that 17 percent of more than 2,000 individuals have sent emails containing sensitive information without putting any additional safety measures in place, like encryption or password protection. This indicates the need for chief information officers to put a stronger emphasis on email security and data loss prevention.

"Organizations today face a complex and evolving set of data protection and privacy considerations," said Proofpoint EMEA marketing director Paul Hennin. "Managers need to ensure that compliant collaboration is possible."

This is especially true as the consumerization of IT drives more companies to deploy mobile strategies.

Another way to improve email security is by deploying a data classification program. This allows employees to label an email by determining what information it contains. As a result, workers can be more assertive when handling emails.