Partner Article

Corporate and Employee Naivety Around Device Security is Placing Organisations at Risk  

Absolute® Software Corporation (TSX: ABT), the industry standard for persistent endpoint security and management solutions for computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, has today announced the results of the 2013 Mobile Enterprise Risk Survey. The research surveyed 755 British workers on their attitudes to mobile devices and data theft and found many employees do not feel responsible for their organisations’ data. Businesses face fines of up to £500,000 for data breaches but despite this, 23% of employees said that data security is not their responsibility, and 30% said they believe there would be no penalty for losing a company device. Yet when asked about employer penalties for losing individual data, 69% of those surveyed said businesses should be fined and face legal sanctions.

It’s widely agreed that the proliferation of mobile devices and the trend in bring your own device (BYOD) in the workplace is seeing company data exposed and compromised more frequently, yet a third of employees (33%) describe the security culture of their workplace as moderate or lax. Only 63% of employees say there is a formal procedure in place when a device is lost, and 30% say there are no personal penalties for losing the phone

Stephen Midgley, Vice President, Global Marketing, Absolute Software said: “The desire for employees to work remotely and on the go has made valuable and confidential business data vulnerable. The speed with which BYOD has landed has meant corporate IT has barely been able to keep its head above water and the results of the 2013 Mobile Enterprise Risk Survey show that for most organisations it’s a struggle not only to educate employees on device security, but also to provide basic support to its staff. A business can be compromised financially and competitively through data breaches, and it’s vital that CIOs and IT departments develop a strategy to mitigate against mobile device theft and data loss.”

In terms of device ownership, the 2013 Mobile Enterprise Risk Survey shows that nearly one third (29%) of company employees have only one device for work and personal use, and often this device is owned by the business (23%). The research also looked into what employees think of the data that is stored on their corporate smart device. A third (33%) of respondents ranked protecting their personal contacts as a top priority, while four in ten (41%) ranked work contacts as a top priority. These were both ahead of login details for corporate portals (23%) and work files (19%).

It seems despite recognition that sensitive data exists, a significant amount of employees surveyed are still losing devices. 55% understand there is private information on their device, yet 15% admitted to having lost a smartphone or tablet, rising to 25% in younger employees aged between 18 and 34. On learning a device has been lost, 37% said they contacted IT, 28% contacted the service provider, while only 7% used a tracking service to locate the device.

For more information, please visit http://www.absolute.com/en/resources/research/mobile-enterprise-risk-uk

About Absolute Software

Absolute Software Corporation (TSX: ABT) is the industry standard in persistent endpoint security and management for computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. The Company, a leader in device security and management tracking for 20 years, has over 30,000 commercial customers worldwide. Absolute’s solutions – Computrace®, Absolute Manage®, Absolute Service, Absolute Secure Drive, and Absolute LoJack® – provide organizations with actionable intelligence to prove compliance, securely manage BYOD, and deliver comprehensive visibility and control over all of their devices and data. Absolute is one of only four vendors to be recognized on both Magic Quadrants based on providing customers with the ability to secure and manage many different types of devices using a single solution. Absolute persistence technology is embedded in the firmware of computers, netbooks, tablets and smartphones by global leaders, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Motion, Panasonic, Samsung, and Toshiba, and the Company has reselling partnerships with these OEMs and others, including Apple. For more information about Absolute Software, visit www.absolute.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Absolute .