{"id":2927,"date":"2012-04-24T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.formtek.com\/blog\/?p=2927"},"modified":"2012-04-24T07:00:47","modified_gmt":"2012-04-24T15:00:47","slug":"mobile-security-mitigating-risks-in-the-24x7-connected-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/mobile-security-mitigating-risks-in-the-24x7-connected-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Security: Mitigating Risks in the 24×7 Connected World"},"content":{"rendered":"

A survey by Symantec<\/a> found that an overwhelming majority of businesses are embracing mobility and equipping their employees with mobile devices. \u00a0Hundreds of millions of employees are using their smartphones<\/a> now to access corporate applications and data.<\/p>\n

CJ Desai<\/a>, senior vice president, Endpoint and Mobility Group, Symantec, said that<\/a> \u201cWe are impressed by the pace of mobile application adoption within organizations. \u00a0One big reason for their popularity is the increase in productivity they offer for employees in the office or on the road. It all adds up to increased reactivity for SMBs, which is a key weapon in their arsenal for competing with larger enterprises.”<\/p>\n

Daryl Plummer<\/a>, managing VP and Gartner fellow,\u00a0said<\/a> that “We believe the pace of change over the next four years will be breathtaking. \u00a0The popularity in mobile devices is going to produce a domino-effect on apps usage and development.”<\/p>\n

But there are clear risks involved when adopting mobile. \u00a0 The use of mobile introduces a whole range of security issues that must be addressed. \u00a0Mobile devices are easily lost and tend to be easy targets of security breaches compared to desktop PCs that are stationed behind a company firewall. \u00a0Lost equipment, lost revenue, loss of customer trust, loss of data and brand damage. \u00a0These are potential outcomes of lax mobile security. \u00a0Symantec estimates that, on average, larges companies will lose $500,000 per year due to mobile breaches; smaller companies will see losses close to $125,000.<\/p>\n

Shantanu Ghosh<\/a>, Vice-President and Managing Director (India Product Operations) of Symantec,\u00a0said <\/a>that “The question is no longer about allowing mobile devices in the work place, but rather how to manage and secure devices and critical information effectively and mitigate risks in a 24×7-connected world… \u00a0Mobile adoption is not without risks, and IT organisations recognise this challenge. Concerns are wide-ranging, from lost and stolen devices, data leakage, unauthorised access to corporate resources and the spread of malware infections from mobile devices to the company network.”<\/p>\n

In addressing this inevitable trend towards adopting mobility, Symantec recommends the following five-point strategy:<\/p>\n