CTOs Lack Knowledge of Mobile Thefts

Research from Samsung UK reveals that businesses are not taking mobile security seriously enough, with breaches commonplace and lack of C-Level knowledge of basic mobile security. According to the survey, 30% of CTOs do not know how many mobile handsets were lost or stolen in 2013. This lack of knowledge is troubling and signals that proactive mobile security planning is not happening as much as it should.

The survey reveals some interesting insights:

• Businesses are encouraging mobile work - 75% of companies confirm mobile devices are connected to their corporate network. 20% of companies say there are 5x as many devices as 2 years ago.
• Security breaches are commonplace - 47% of companies have had a company-owned handset lost or stolen in the last 12 months. 10% have had over 200 handsets lost or stolen.
• Security breaches are costly - over 10% of businesses have incurred costs >£25,000 from security incidents in the past year
• Lack of awareness of current security issues - 30% of CTOs do not know how many mobile handsets were lost or stolen in 2013, and 34% do not know how many mobile security incidents in general their business suffered last year
• Productivity trumps security - less than 10% of CTOs believe mobile security is more important than facilitating flexible working and improving software

Gartner predicts that by 2017, half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes, so this lack of security planning will be further complicated by the management and security issues associated with BYOD.

Our own survey has revealed gaps in security policies where ‘people’ pose one of the greatest risks to data security. When people don’t think data security is ‘their problem,’ when data is not seen as valuable, and when policies don’t spell out the importance of dealing with security threats (hacking, loss, theft), data breaches are more likely to happen. For example, our survey found that 23% of respondents don’t know their company’s procedure for dealing with work device loss or theft.

In order to secure corporate data, organizations of all sizes must conduct risk assessments and take proactive steps to secure devices, no matter who owns them. Both organizations and individual employees need to be made aware of the value of corporate data and the importance of protecting it with ongoing security training and a clear security policy. On top of this, having device management and security in place is no longer an option, but a requirement for protecting corporate data.

Absolute Software was first to market with full BYOD support for computers, tablets, and smartphones. Absolute Manage provides enrollment workflows as well as remote and automated security protocols for corporate and employee-owned devices, fully supporting employee productivity while also addressing security.