Mobile Devices Ratchet Up Security Risks

By Samuel Greengard

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Things Get Personal

91% of respondents said that the number of personal devices connecting to corporate networks is growing.
Left to Their Own Devices

75% of the organizations surveyed allow personal devices to connect to corporate networks, an increase from 67% in 2013 and 65% in 2012.
Security in the Crosshairs

82% of the security professionals expect mobile security incidents to increase this year.
BYOD = Challenges

95% of respondents noted that they face challenges related to the security of BYOD.
Costs Increase

64% said the cost of remediating mobile security incidents is increasing, and 42% said a mobile security incident costs more than $250,000.
Android @ Risk

64% cited Android as the mobile platform with the greatest risk, up from 49% in 2013 and 30% in 2012.
Employees @ Risk

87% indicated that careless employees are a greater threat to security than cyber-criminals, up from 72% in 2012.
The Weakest Link

63% reported that employees likely contributed to recent high-profile security breaches. 87% of incidents were due to "careless employees," compared with 72% in 2012.
Behavior Matters

92% of the respondents said that employee behaviors could have made a difference in preventing high-profile security breaches.
Minding Their Business

56% said they manage business data on employee-owned personal devices, up from 37% in 2013.
Key Concerns

Employees accidentally accessing malicious sites or downloading malicious content. Employee awareness about security policies. Employees intentionally ignoring security policies. Lost or stolen mobile devices with corporate data. Keeping security updates current. Users changing or upgrading their mobile devices.
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Over the last few years, mobility has radically redefined enterprise IT. It has introduced new requirements, new demands, and the need for entirely new technology platforms and connection points. A recent report from Check Point Software Technologies and Dimensional Research, "The Impact of Mobile Devices on Information Security: a Survey of IT and Security Professionals," states that bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives and other mobile tools and approaches are ratcheting up risks, as well as costs. Among other things, the global survey of 706 IT and security professionals found that about 95 percent of their organizations have mobile devices accessing their networks, but IT and security strategies are significantly lagging. What's more, many of the problems that organizations face concerning mobile security are the direct result of lax governance and careless employees. Consequently, breaches and other incidents are on the rise, and the potential exposure and impact of these events continues to grow. Here's a list of some of the key findings from the mobile security survey.

This article was originally published on 2015-01-09

Samuel Greengard writes about business and technology for Baseline, CIO Insight and other publications. His most recent book is The Internet of Things (MIT Press, 2015).

Mobile Devices Ratchet Up Security Risks

Things Get Personal

Left to Their Own Devices

Security in the Crosshairs

BYOD = Challenges

Costs Increase

Android @ Risk

Employees @ Risk

The Weakest Link

Behavior Matters

Minding Their Business

Key Concerns