Enterprise mobile security? Not my problem

The increasing trend towards BYOD and mobile devices in the workplace leads to added risks, but employees are often unaware or feel it isn't their problem.

These are among the findings of a survey by security specialist Absolute Software which polled workers in companies with a 1,000 or more employees who use mobiles for work.

When asked about penalties for leaking or losing company data, a quarter of US workers surveyed said there should be no punishment as data security wasn’t their problem. Whilst the remaining 75 percent felt they should face some penalty, many of those who had lost a mobile said their punishment ranged from nothing to getting a talking to or simply having to replace the device.

23 percent of respondents indicated that they didn't know their company's procedure for dealing with theft or loss of a workers device. More than a third of those who had lost their phones indicated that they didn't change their security habits afterwards.

The results also show ignorance of the value of corporate data, with 59 percent of enterprise mobile users estimating the value of their data at less than $500.

"If firms don't set clear policies that reflect the priority of corporate data security, they can't expect employees to make it a priority on their own," says Tim Williams, mobile enterprise data expert and Director, Product Management at Absolute Software.

It's clear that the attitude of workers towards mobile device security is putting enterprise data at risk and that could be potentially costly. "The data may be carried around in the employee’s pocket, but the half million dollar fines we've seen levied due to data loss come out of the company's pocket," says Williams. "Clear policies, properly articulated to employees, will ensure that the entire company, not just IT, unites against mobile data loss".

You can view a full copy of the report's findings on the Absolute website.

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