SAN FRANCISCO—With the number of employees using smart phones and other mobile devices, corporations must start to focus their security on more than just their network perimeter, according to security analysts and specialists attending the RSA Conference here.
Research done by the Business Forum Management Program in 2006 found that roughly 49 percent of the 680 executives surveyed are “mobile” or “very mobile,” and about 80 percent plan to increase the number of mobile devices used in the next few years.
And even though a quarter of the respondents reported having critical data stored on mobile devices, 40 percent said they have no security and compliance measures in place to protect data on those devices. In addition, just 17.2 percent said they are very concerned about a breach in their company’s mobile communications—almost the same amount that reported being unconcerned.
The next wave in security will deal with protecting items such as smart phones, said Curtis Cresta, vice president and general manager of North American Operations for F-Secure. Smart phones, he said, are easier to maintain and cost less than laptops, making them increasingly attractive to enterprises. In the past several months, there has been an uptick in interest in security features for smart phones among larger corporations, he added.
Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Next Wave in Security: Protecting Smart Phones, PDAs.
