Though many organizations espouse their concern over security, the reality is that nearly half will forgo at least some aspects of security to “get the job done,” according to the Verizon Mobile Security Index.
Forty-eight percent of the survey’s respondents said that their organization had sacrificed mobile security in the past year, that was a significant jump from the 32% of respondents who indicated the year before that their enterprises has forgone at least some security.
Additionally, the index showed that those that had sacrificed security were nearly twice as likely to suffer a compromise – 46% versus 24 % — with a majority (62%) of those affected described the event as “major.”
“Companies are increasingly reliant on mobility as the backbone of their business operations so there needs to be a priority on securing those devices,” said TJ Fox, Verizon senior vice president and president business markets, said in a prepared statement. “The applications on these devices now manage things like supply chain systems, point of sale systems, or customer-facing apps. The lack of robust security measures could potentially expose corporate assets, and possibly customer data, to malicious actors.”
Among the survey’s other findings:
- Two thirds (67%) of organizations said they are less confident about the security of their mobile assets than other devices
- More than four in five respondents (83%) respondents said that their organization was at risk of mobile threats, nearly a third (29%) said that it was a significant risk
- Five in six (85%) said organizations need to take mobile security more seriously
- More than four in five (81%) admitted using public Wi-Fi, even when many said doing so was prohibited by company policy, while 80% of those that said they were responsible for securing mobile devices said they use public Wi-Fi, even when doing so was prohibited by company policy
