Check Point’s third annual mobile security survey highlights careless employees as greatest mobile security threat
Announcement posted by Bench PR 29 Oct 2014
29 October 2014 – Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today published its third mobile security report, revealing that 95% of respondents face challenges with securing and supporting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – highlighting the need for more robust security solutions for personal devices tied to the corporate network.
For a full copy of third edition of the report, The impact of mobile devices on information security, please visit: http://www.checkpoint.com/capsule/.
Based on a survey of more than 700 IT professionals, including 100 IT respondents from Australia and New Zealand, the report highlights the ongoing concern at the ease of transporting sensitive corporate information outside of managed environments and details the potential mobile security threats due to lack of employee security awareness or training.
Key findings include:
· The greatest threat resides within the organisation – 87 percent of surveyed professionals believed that the greater security threat to mobile devices was careless employees. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents believed that recent high-profile breaches of customer data were likely due to employee carelessness.
· Proliferate use of personal mobile devices on the corporate network – Despite careless employees as the weakest link into businesses, 91% of IT professionals saw an increase in the number of personal mobile devices connecting to their networks over the past two years. In 2014, 56% of those surveyed managed business data on employee-owned devices, up from 37% in 2013.
· Mobile security incidents expected to rise – 2015 is shaping up to be a risky year, according to those surveyed. Of the security professionals surveyed this year, 82% expect the number of security incidents to grow in 2015. Additionally, nearly all of the respondents (98%) expressed their concern about the impact of a mobile security incident, with the greatest concern being the potential for lost and stolen information.
· Cost of mobile security incidents continue to rise – 2014 saw an increase in remediation costs for mobile security incidents. Of the IT executives surveyed, 42% noted that mobile security incidents cost their organisations more than US$250,000.
Android continues to be perceived as having the greatest security risks – Android risk increased from 49 percent in 2013 to 64 percent this year, as the platform with greatest perceived security risk – as compared to Apple, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry.
“Through our 2014 Mobile Security Survey, it is clear that IT professionals are not seeing an end to mobile security threats, and in fact, are preparing for an increase of these incidents in 2015,” said Kurt Hansen, managing director for Australia and New Zealand at Check Point Software Technologies. “Today we announced the Check Point Capsule, which helps to solve these challenges as a complete mobile solution that ensures seamless security regardless of where the data or device goes.”
The 2014 Mobile Security Report coincides with the launch of Check Point Capsule, a single mobile solution that offers unparalleled protection for business data and mobile devices, everywhere. Check Point Capsule brings multi-layer security that protects business data on mobile devices through secure access to work; prevents internal and external data leakages by attaching security that travels with the document; and extends the corporate security policy to protect devices from threats when outside of the corporate network. In addition to today’s Check Point Capsule announcement, the company was recently named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Data Protection for the eighth consecutive year.
For more information about the Check Point Capsule, visit:http://www.checkpoint.com/capsule/.
About the Report:
To read the full report, visit: http://www.checkpoint.com/capsule/.
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About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, provides customers with uncompromised protection against all types of threats, reduces security complexity and lowers total cost of ownership. Check Point first pioneered the industry with FireWall-1 and its patented stateful inspection technology. Today, Check Point continues to develop new innovations based on the Software Blade Architecture, providing customers with flexible and simple solutions that can be fully customised to meet the exact security needs of any organisation. Check Point is the only vendor to go beyond technology and define security as a business process. Check Point 3D Security uniquely combines policy, people and enforcement for greater protection of information assets and helps organisations implement a blueprint for security that aligns with business needs. Customers include tens of thousands of organisations of all sizes, including all Fortune and Global 100 companies. Check Point's award-winning ZoneAlarm solutions protect millions of consumers from hackers, spyware and identity theft.