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SonicWall & YouGov: UK business overlooks security vulnerabilities of BYoD
April 2012 by SonicWall & YouGov
While key drivers of BYoD (Bring Your own Device) deployment in UK are employee productivity and reduced IT costs, an absence of IT security measures leaves companies vulnerable to data protection and security risks. According to a new survey conducted by SonicWALL and YouGov, while 39% of companies cite productivity advantages and 43% cite increased job satisfaction as key benefits of BYoD, 47% of companies have not yet put increased IT security measures in place to manage the rise of BYOD in their organisations . Additionally, although 39% of companies cite that BYoD offers the benefit of reduced IT costs, the absence of IT security measures presents significant potential increased risk and costs resulting from cyber threats - far outweighing any initial BYoD cost saving.
“This survey highlights that a large number of companies aren’t taking action in a systematic way to address the issue of IT security with BYOD,” said Florian Malecki, SonicWALL EMEA Senior Product Marketing Manager. “The costs they risk to the business, through a lack of spending on IT security, could be a lot greater than the investment to protect them in the first instance.” He continued. “Email and social media are the among the worst culprits in terms of malware, entering the corporate network; our survey shows, of companies that allow BYOD, 76% provide access to corporate email, 59% access to work calendars and 43% access to social media. Without proper IT security in place the risk of vulnerability increases dramatically.”
Other findings of the survey include:-
• The top three groups allowed to use their own devices at work are: - Senior Management (32%), IT (24%) and Sales & Marketing (21%)
• Most popular BYoD OS is RIM /Blackberry (32%), followed by Apple iOS (22%) and Android (12%)
• 45% of companies with BYoD policies do not have clear IT policy guidelines
• Top four resources employees are given access to from their own devices are : - work email (76%), work calendar (59%), business applications (45%) and social media (43%)
The survey was taken with 120 senior decision makers in big businesses.
About YouGov
YouGov is an international, full service market research agency offering added value consultancy, qualitative research, field and tab services, syndicated products such as the daily brand perception tracker BrandIndex, fast turnaround omnibus and comprehensive market intelligence reports.
YouGov is considered a pioneer of online market research and has a panel of 2.5 million people worldwide, including over 350,000 people in the UK representing all ages, socio-economic groups and other demographic types. For further information visit yougov.co.uk
