The survey, which took in responses from more than 500 dry cleaners and launderettes across the UK, found that more than 17,100 USB sticks had been left at the cleaners.
According to the data security specialist, the surge in lost USB sticks at the cleaners is a sign of the growing consumerisation of technology in the workplace.
Consumerisation is where employees use their own gadgets – such as smartphones and USB sticks – in the workplace, a process that makes life very difficult for IT managers, Infosecurity notes.
This is because it is often impossible – both technically and legally – to extend the security on a corporate system to a consumer-owned device.
And this issue, says Credant, is clearly a concern for IT managers, many of whom are worried about the governance issues associated with the Data Protection Act, which the Information Commissioners Office has been enforcing in recent months.
Sean Glynn, Credant's vice president, said that the public sector is looking to make savings of £81 billion over the next four years, and at the very least, fines for breaches of the DPA could be one way of making up the deficit.
"If we were to assume that each of these USB sticks contained sensitive information, and were not encrypted, this type of assertive action from the ICO would make businesses... finally put the policies, technologies and protections in place that can mitigate this risk", he said.
And it's not just USB sticks that are left at the cleaners, as researchers found a stockbroker's paperwork; a week's takings from a convenience store; false teeth; chicken nuggets; and even a toy rat.
Whilst some of these items are important, and also amusing, their frequency was next to nothing compared to technology like mobile phones and USB sticks.