Increased number of mobile breaches in UK firms

A BT study has discovered that 41 per cent of UK companies have experienced a mobile-related security issue within the last 12 months, with an additional 20 per cent reporting up to four incidents over that same period.

The research found that businesses in the  UK are still failing to take adequate measures to prevent mobile threats, which include missing devices and malware infections. This comes in spite of the same study finding that 95 per cent of organisations in the UK allow their staff to take COPE (Corporately Owned Personally-Enabled) or BYOD (Bring Your Own device) approaches.

BT Security’s Mark Hughes said that the findings are an indicator of enterprises still failing to prioritise mobile security. He commented:

“Today’s threat landscape shifts very quickly so it is important for organisations to start with security in mind, rather than add it as an afterthought. This will ensure that security processes develop with them, and not after them.”

BT and Hughes also feel that a certain level of responsibility lies with board members and employees, suggesting that they have so far failed to fully recognise mobile security as an issue. The research found that 81 per cent of employees don’t take mobile security seriously. It also revealed that 69 per cent of decision makers in IT believe CEOs take a less than serious view on the subject.

If these decision makers don’t assign a higher priority to the issue soon, they may find that they have experienced one breach too far. Creating and filling cyber security jobs would be the wise move to make, but only time will tell if they will choose sit up and take notice.