Poor BYOD security practices put data at risk

There are a variety of benefits of BYOD (bring your own device) for both the employer and the employee. However, a lack of awareness of security concerns by users, and weak BYOD policies (or policy enforcement) leave company data at increased risk of exposure or compromise.

I wrote about a recent survey from BitDefender that highlights some of the BYOD security concerns:

Many organizations have embraced the concept of BYOD (bring your own device), allowing employees to use their own personal smartphones and tablets at work. A new survey from BitDefender, however, suggests that BYOD policies and controls have a long way to go in order to be more secure.

The BitDefender study, conducted by Millward Brown, surveyed 1,045 Internet users in the United States, aged 18 and over, during August of 2014. The results of the survey should be a wake-up call for companies to examine their BYOD policies, and ensure that adequate security controls are in place to safeguard corporate data and resources.

Based on the survey responses, it seems that BYOD has transcended from a trendy buzzword to an accepted norm. The concept of connecting personal mobile devices to a company network or data is widely accepted, and half of the employees who are allowed to use their own smartphone, tablet, or laptop take advantage of that policy.

What is concerning is that half of US employees report storing work-related data on their personal mobile device(s)—even when there is no BYOD policy. The number is nearly 60 percent among those who are connecting to company networks through BYOD. Based on the survey responses, employees with higher educations and/or higher incomes also have a higher rate of storing work data on their personal devices.

Read the full post at PCWorld: Survey: BYOD security remains spotty, with users unaware or unmotivated about risks.