Absolute Software Report Uncovers Usage Behavior and Security Risks of Connected Employees
Vancouver, Canada: May 13, 2015 – Absolute® Software Corporation (TSX: ABT), the industry standard for persistent endpoint security and management solutions for computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, today announced the results of a U.S. mobile security study*, conducted earlier this year. The survey confirmed that Millennials prove to be a greater risk to data security as compared to other user categories.
The report provides insight into employee attitudes toward IT security and their behaviors on corporate-owned mobile devices. Based on usage preferences and content accessed, the results offer an eye-opening perspective on the security risks associated with employee mobile device usage, depending on company size, employee age, their role, and the number of devices they use.
The report demonstrates clear differences in generational behavior and associated risks related to data security.
Millennials versus Baby Boomers:
- 64% of Millennials use their employer-owned device for personal use, as opposed to 37% of Baby Boomers
- 35% of Millennials modify their default settings, compared to 8% of Baby Boomers
- 27% of Millennials access “Not Safe For Work” content, compared with only 5% of Baby Boomers
- 25% of Millennials believe they compromise IT security, compared with only 5% of Baby Boomers
We conducted this survey with the intention of helping enterprises better understand the current attitudes that employees have towards data security and privacy,” said Stephen Midgley, vice president, Global Marketing, Absolute Software. “Armed with this information, our customers can consider user behavior as an additional data point in their endpoint security and data risk management strategies.”
Additional findings of the 2015 Mobile Device Security Report include:
- 50% of respondents believe that security is not their responsibility
- 52% of respondents use their employer-owned devices for personal use
- 21% of respondents have modified the default settings on their work devices
- 14% of all respondents believe their behavior compromises the security of their organization
Respondents also selected the three top benefits of mobility:
- 39%: I can respond to requests from any location
- 38%: I can be more responsive
- 38%: I can do work while I’m traveling
“While the report indicates real progress in a number of critical security areas, there is still a lot that can be done to modify behavior and educate employees,” said Mr. Midgley. “Ultimately, everyone is responsible for protecting sensitive business information. Knowing there is ambiguity between how different users may approach this requirement, IT leaders need to provide meaningful guidance and training that reinforces this collective accountability.”
About Absolute
Absolute empowers more than 12,000 customers worldwide to protect devices, data, applications, and users against theft or attack — both on and off the corporate network. With the industry’s only tamper-proof endpoint visibility and control solution, Absolute allows IT organizations to enforce asset management, security hygiene, and data compliance for today’s remote digital workforces. Absolute’s patented Persistence® technology is embedded in the firmware of Dell, HP, Lenovo, and 22 other leading manufacturers’ devices for vendor-agnostic coverage, tamper-proof resilience, and ease of deployment. See how it works at www.absolute.com and follow us at @absolutecorp.
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