66% of enterprises find it difficult to keep up with emerging mobile threats: Survey

A BlackBerry study revealed a significant gap between what enterprises understand is putting them at risk with their mobile deployment and how actively they are taking steps to combat those risks.

The gap in understanding how inadequately managed mobile devices in the workplace can contribute risk - yet not taking action to mitigate that risk is evident, as 66 percent of those surveyed acknowledge they find it difficult to keep up with current and emerging mobile threats, while 70 percent of the same respondents say they know they are more tolerant of risk than they should be with their enterprise mobility. This increases to 76 percent in BYOD environments.

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“For organisations with governance, risk and compliance (GRC) demands, this gap leaves them vulnerable to attacks or industry regulation breaches that put them at financial and reputational risk,” the study highlighted.

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The survey found that only 35 percent of executives, risk compliance officers and IT managers within large organisations are very confident that their organisation’s data assets are fully protected from unauthorized access via mobile devices. In fact, more than two-thirds believe that mobile devices are the weakest link in their enterprise security framework.

Respondents indicated that they have been too lax in assessing and guarding against risks such as lost or stolen devices, unapproved apps and cloud services, as well as inadequate separation of work and personal use of devices.

“Consequences in mishandling these issues could lead to immeasurable reputational damage, significant financial penalties and loss of revenue through the loss of trade secrets, or misappropriated customer data. These threats are so critical that 75 percent of those surveyed believe that their organisation’s GRC groups should be more involved in developing enterprise mobility strategy.”

“It’s startlingly clear that mobile technology has transformed daily business faster than most businesses have been able to adapt,” said John Sims, President of Global Enterprise Services, BlackBerry. “Leaders at all levels of organisations around the world are realizing the very real gaps that exist in their technology infrastructure - and the potentially devastating consequences of a breach.”

The findings raise serious concerns about the risk exposure faced by enterprises at a time when mobile challenges are growing.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents reported the number of data breaches their organisation has experienced via mobile devices has increased in the last year, and 66 percent said that it is difficult for their organisations to keep up with emerging mobile trends and security threats.

Seventy-six percent of study participants said the risk of legal liability and costly lawsuits will increase without concerted efforts to adopt comprehensive enterprise mobility management (EMM) strategies.

About 61 percent say their organisation miscalculates or underestimates risk by focusing on the device rather than the entire mobility landscape.

Fifty-seven percent said that they would consider curtailing policies that allow employees to use their personal mobile devices at work (BYOD) in favour of more secure end-to-end solutions such as corporate owned, personally enabled (COPE). 77 percent reported that it is increasingly difficult to balance the needs of the business and those of the end user when it comes to mobility.

Sixty-nine percent said their methods for choosing mobility vendors need to be updated to reflect the current risk and mobility landscape. 73 percent said they want providers to have security credentials and certifications when determining how best to implement EMM solutions. And, 58 percent want their partners to have a clear mobility roadmap and solutions that adapt to changing technologies.