By 2018, there could be more than a billion employee-owned smartphones and tablets being used in the workplace, according to a recent article from Information Age. Unfortunately, while office-use of personal mobile devices is up, so are the creation of mobile malware and vulnerabilities.
An annual security report from Cisco reports that security gaps are increasing and widening as traditional solutions are applied to new ways of doing business. The higher the “street value” of a company’s data — including corporate intellectual property and individual health care data — the greater the risk of that data becoming a target, the report stated.
The problem increases with BYOD, as many employees download apps onto their mobile devices without thought of security.
The issue leaves security teams attempting to provide solutions that are “any-to-any” the report noted: To protect any user, on any device, anywhere, accessing any application or resource.
Though just 1.2 percent of all web malware encounters involved mobile malware that targets specific devices, the report stated, the trend is evolving. 99 percent of all mobile malware intended to compromise a device targeted Android devices.
However, phishing, like jacking, social engineering ruses and redirects to different websites than the user intended are common among mobile malware not targeting a specific device. Of those instances, Android users had the highest number of encounters — 71 percent — while Apple iPhone users had 14 percent of those types of web malware encounters.
Information Age states that, while it’s difficult to prevent mobile users from downloading apps, ensuring that they avoid unofficial app stores is critical to data security. It is also crucial for security professionals to be able to identify compromised devices and monitor their activity across the extended network.
XO IT Services has ample experience with mobility and BYOD solutions to help businesses mitigate the risks involved with employees using their personal devices for work. We can help you create a BYOD policy, secure, manage, monitor, and support mobile devices in your workplace and much more. For more information, Contact us.
