Survey finds inadequate internal awareness toward mobile security

NEW YORK, US: Though organisations spend significant resources to keep their computer networks protected from external security threats, significant security risks still remain as a result of the actions of their own employees, according to a recent Deloitte poll which surveyed nearly 1200 information technology and business executives across the United States.

According to the survey, 40% of respondents are unaware if their organisation has strategies, policies, procedures or technology controls in place to enforce mobile security effectively. Without an awareness of these policies, employees may be hard-pressed to comply with them.

Additionally, 28.4% of survey respondents believe there are unauthorised PDAs, tablets, or a combination of both connecting to their enterprise intranet, and particularly their e-mail servers. Unauthorised devices represent a significant security threat to organisations well beyond just the threat to the computing infrastructure itself.

New channels can pose new security threats

"Devices like tablets, PDAs and smartphones have become ubiquitous over the past few years as people increasingly purchase them as tools to enhance their productivity at work and at home," said JR Regan, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP and innovation leader to Deloitte's federal practice. "Despite the benefit of these new devices, they also present increased security threats for organisations which now must be wary of security threats originating from new channels."

Even with a general unfamiliarity around mobile security policies and precautions in their organisation, the overwhelming majority of respondents are concerned about one or more organisational security risks. Nearly 87% of respondents feel their company is at risk for a cyber attack originating from a mobile security lapse. Additionally, 41% of respondents feel that their organisation is at risk in each of the following areas: operational risks, technological risks, infrastructure and device risks and legal and regulatory risks.

The poll was conducted during Deloitte's Dbriefs Technology Executive series: Securing Enterprise Social Media and Mobility Apps. For more information and to view the full results of the poll please click here.