Businesses and individuals thinking that they have mobile security covered, may need to think again. That’s the message from a new report on mobile security shows that nearly half of people using a personal device like an iPhone, iPad, or Android device are doing so without their company’s knowledge or permission. The same report showed that users frequently access sensitive or confidential data from mobile devices but would stop after a security breach.
Adding to concerns around personal mobile devices and BYOD programs, one third of IT professionals in the survey said that their company has already experienced a mobile-related security incident.
The Trusted Mobility Index, a survey Juniper Networks, found that security is a major concern for all mobile device users. The survey included 4,000 participants across five countries (US, UK, Germany, China and Japan). About 1,500 respondents identified themselves as IT professionals.
- On average, users reported owning three mobile devices
- 18% of users said they own five devices
- About three quarters said that they used mobile devices to access sensitive information including health data and mobile banking
- Talking about device and data security, 71% percent said that a mobile data breach said would make them change the way the use their devices or would abandon them all together
When asked who should be responsible for mobile security, the responses were mixed with mobile carriers or service providers, device manufacturers, and security software developers being major themes. Dan Hoffman, Juniper’s chief mobile security evangelist noted that most carriers and service providers don’t include security commitments as part of their standard terms, though he predicts that will change in the future.
As far as workplace issues, the survey found several interesting points, particular around BYOD policies.
- Nine out of ten users said that it was the employer’s job to manage security for personally-owned devices used for work tasks
- 41% of those using a personal device for work said they are doing it without permission from their employer
- Overall, IT professionals said they felt management pressure to offer BYOD programs
- About half of IT pros said that they had concerns about data security issues and their ability to effectively support a wide range of devices
- One third of IT professionals reported that their company had already experienced a mobile-related security threat – this was significantly more common in China where 69% of IT professionals said a mobile-related incident had occurred at their workplace
In a note related to the survey the mobile malware front, Juniper said that it had identified known malware samples among its customers during the first quarter of this year – most of which was described as being Android spyware.
Source: CIO
