Since the benefits are many of utilizing one device for both personal and work use, bring your own device (BYOD) mania is spreading all over the world. As a result, the pressure on IT administrators and managers is tremendous to manage and secure these devices and data. But, surprisingly, not many organizations around the world are ready to adopt BYOD as part of their business.
The latest research from back-up and online storage vendor Acronis, in conjunction with the Ponemon Institute (News - Alert), reveals that a majority of companies are putting critical data at risk by not having secure BYOD policies in place. By ignoring simple security steps and employee BYOD education, companies are jeopardizing their confidential data, exposing it to theft, corruption, hackers, malware and more, says the survey.
The report, “2013 Data Protection Trends Research,” which evaluated responses from more than 4,300 IT professionals in eight countries, discovered that there are big gaps in BYOD policies. Almost 60 percent of the companies surveyed have no personal device policy in place. For those with policies, 24 percent make exceptions for executives, who may handle even more sensitive data. As a result, these organizations are increasingly vulnerable to data loss and serious compliance issues, cautions the study.
The survey also indicates that a number of organizations are still in denial when it comes to BYOD trends, as more than 30 percent surveyed actually forbid personal devices from accessing the network. Plus, about 80 percent of the companies have made no attempt to educate their employees on BYOD privacy risks.
Furthermore, the study shows that only 21 percent perform remote device wipes when employees leave the company or lose the device in a cab or a restaurant, drastically increasing the risk for data leakage. And businesses underestimate the dangers of public clouds. Since corporate files are commonly shared through third-party cloud storage solutions such as DropBox, nearly 67 percent of organizations do not have a policy in place around public clouds, while 80 percent have not trained employees in the proper use of these platforms.
The research surveyed some 390 professionals from Australia. Interestingly, though many organizations in Australia permit staff to bring their own devices into the workplace, the survey found that most Australian companies do not have secure BYOD policies to protect corporate data. The results of this survey were posted on The Age site.
Commenting on data leakage due to lost or stolen mobile devices, Simon Howe, Asia-Pacific sales director of mobility solutions at Acronis, said, “These smartphones and tablets have access to corporate data, and they need to be secured. What we're seeing is that while organizations have quickly understood the productivity benefits of BYOD, they haven't completely understood the risks and the challenges."