Corporate email systems are at risk of being hacked, according to a survey released by PhoneFactor. The majority of respondents reported that highly sensitive information about their corporate strategy or customer base is communicated via email and 80% of respondents stated that user names and passwords are securing these systems.

High-profile email hacks, like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney receive the bulk of attention but corporations are also concerned. Some 96% of respondents found it important to secure access to company email, with 71% rating it Very or Extremely Important. Additionally, 41% have elevated the importance of email security in the past 12 months, and one-third (33%) are planning to add additional security controls to company email in the next year.

Almost three-quarters of respondents, 74%, were either Not at All Confident or only Somewhat Confident that their existing security precautions are adequate to prevent an attacker from penetrating their company email system. Further, 80% said that that if a bad guy obtained an employee’s username and password, he could gain access to at least some users’ accounts.

Two-factor authentication is one way to secure systems and it’s being considered. Some 74% felt it was at least somewhat critical, with 47% rating it as Very or Extremely Critical. However surprisingly, only 26% of respondents currently require two-factor authentication to secure remote access to company email for all of their users.

PhoneFactor surveyed more than 400 IT professionals about the types of information sent via their company email systems and what they are doing to secure access to it.