Employee Mobile Behaviors Pose Risk to Enterprise Data - New Fiberlink Survey Reveals

    PHILADELPHIA, PA, September 07, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Fiberlink, a global leader in cloud-based EMM (enterprise mobility management) recently announced the results of its new online survey, which was conducted by Harris Interactive. This survey revealed that employees are unknowingly putting enterprise data at great risk on their smartphones and tablets. Among the 2,064 working age adults in the U.S. surveyed about their mobile behavior, 51% of them use their personal smartphones and/or tablet devices for work purposes. An overwhelming majority of those however, are not part of a formalized Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) program with no controls in place to hamper risky behaviors.

In one example, among those employees that did use mobile devices for work (either corporate-issued or their own), this survey showed:

- 25 percent either opened or saved a work attachment file into a third party app, such as Evernote, Dropbox or QuickOffice.
- 20 percent admitted to having cut and pasted work related attachments or email from company email to their personal accounts.
- 18 percent claim that they have accessed websites that are blocked by a company IT policy.

While using their personal devices for work is a matter of employee convenience, it is a matter of security for their employers. Some of the top security issues include corporate data leakage, violation of corporate use policies and regulatory compliance, and malicious applications, each of which have the potential to compromise enterprise data. In the absence of proper EMM solutions, risky employee behavior on mobile devices, whether malicious or accidental, is simply a matter of the inevitable.

One approach for separating personal and work data is through "dual persona," where sensitive business info is encapsulated in a trusted workplace, or a container on the device. This means that corporate applications, corporate email, and corporate documents all reside in a container separated from everything else available. This containment policy will allow IT to control what matters most for a company, while not having to invade the personal privacy of employees and their personal applications.

Despite the potential for some data loss, less than one half of a percent of employees claim that they currently have such a solution installed on their personal mobile devices. The good news for employers and employees alike is that there is a strong appetite among workers for comprehensive solutions. The survey revealed that 61 percent of employees that use personal mobile devices for work (and do not have a solution installed already) are at least somewhat likely to want to install such a solution if it were offered by their employer.

"Today's work environment is a co-mingled mash-up of personal and professional activities. It's not about sacrificing one for the other," said Jonathan Dale, Fiberlink's director of marketing. "Many organizations, including our customers, are starting to prefer the idea of a dual personal solution because it keeps enterprise data safe while allowing employees the freedom to work on their own devices."

For the purposes of this particular study, the term "employees" refers to individuals that are employed both full and part time, as well as self-employed individuals.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted on the internet within the U.S. on behalf of Fiberlink by Harris Interactive from April 18-22, 2013 among 2,064 adults (of those, 1,071 were employed part time, full time and/or self-employed) ages 18 and up. This internet survey is not based on a probability sample. Because of this, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be accurately calculated. Those seeking additional information about this survey can find it on the Fiberlink blog: http://www.maas360.com/maasters/blog/mobilitymanagement/byod-still-risky-business-for-enterprises/

About MaaS360

MaaS360 by Fiberlink is the trusted enterprise mobility management solution to more than 4,500 customers worldwide--from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. We make working in the mobile era simple and safe by delivering comprehensive security and management for applications, documents, email, and devices. Instantly accessible from the web, MaaS360 is easy to use and maintain, and provides the flexibility organizations need to fully embrace mobility in every aspect of their businesses. Backed by the most responsive support in the industry, we put our customers first by providing them with the best user experience for IT and employees. To learn more go to http://www.maas360.com.

2013 MaaS360 and the MaaS360 logo are trademarks of Fiberlink Communications and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other brand names are trademarks of their respective partners.

With 20 years of experience in delivering enterprise mobility management solutions, Fiberlink has the in-depth functional and technical expertise necessary to accelerate deployment, reduce risk, increase employee productivity, and simplify mobile device management.

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