Smartphones keep employees connected to their work and each other and unquestionably improve their efficiency but a recent survey of 100 European IT executives found that most companies have no idea just how much sensitive data is shared and housed on employees' mobile devices.

From a security standpoint, this disconnect poses significant problems for companies that are torn between empowering their employees—most of whom will continue to use their iPhones or Androids with our without an employers' blessing—locking down the competitive and sensitive data they must exchange to do their jobs.

During its Mobile Enterprise 09 conference, Sybase (NYSE: SY) asked 100 IT executives to weigh in on this growing data security issue. Of those surveyed, two in three companies said they are not fully aware of exactly what sensitive data is stored on employees' mobile devices and—perhaps more troubling—38 percent said they don't even know what applications are being run by employees on their smartphones.

Moreover, only 15 percent of respondents said they are "completely confident" that they would be legally protected should an employee's mobile device be lost or stolen and whatever data contained on the devices fell into the wrong person's or organization's hands.

Get the full story here at InternetNews.com.