Mobile Device Security Is a Growing Concern

Spyware, viruses and worms continue to plague most organizations, but security challenges tied to the use of handheld devices and mobile and remote computing are growing at a rapid pace, new research commissioned by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) reveals.

Meanwhile, managing employees' mobile devices is becoming even more challenging and is overextending already strained IT departments, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Visage Mobile of almost 600 mobile users. Managing mobility has expanded from an IT issue to one that affects the many stakeholders throughout the entire enterprise, from finance and human resources to every manager and employee.

Based on data returned from the latter survey, the majority of employees are uninformed and disengaged when it comes to monitoring and managing their corporate-issued mobile assets. More than 60 percent of respondents said their company does not have a formal policy for mobile devices.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said they do not have access to their corporate wireless bill, while more than 60 percent waited three weeks or longer to be issued their mobile devices after being hired.

Not surprisingly, 80 percent of respondents are using their corporate issued mobile device for personal use, while eight percent of respondents have had a corporate-issued device with potentially sensitive enterprise data either lost or stolen.

The CompTIA survey of more than 2,000 individuals found that viruses and worms, cited by 54 percent of respondents, and spyware, selected by 51 percent, continue to be the top two information security threats faced today.

Security issues related to hand-held devices, and to mobile and remote workers, are clearly emerging concerns, according to the CompTIA study. More than 50 percent of respondents said security threats related to use of hand-held devices have increased significantly compared to one year ago.