According to KPMG and law firm Mishcon de Reya, in 70% of corporate data theft cases the perpetrators were leaving an organisation to go to a competitor.
The data was customer-related in three-quarters of cases. Only 14% involved accounts information, business plans or forecasts.
Those caught stealing are most likely to justify their actions by saying the competitor already knew about the information (60%) or that the data was in the public domain (30%).
Dan Morrison, partner in Mishcon de Reya's fraud and insolvency group, said: "The stolen data has often limited shelf life and employees realise they have to use the information quickly or they will lose their competitive advantage.
"Therefore when data theft is discovered or suspected, swift action is needed. At Mishcon de Reya the average time taken in a case of this nature from instruction to legal relief, whether in the form of restraining injunction, undertakings, damages or apologies, was just over 2.5 weeks."
Although all industry sectors report cases of data theft, men are the main perpetrators. Only 22% of cases surveyed involved women.
Since 2006 the number of cases of this nature handled by Mishcon de Reya has more than doubled from 20 in 2006 to 45 last year.
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