Mobile Devices Data Security

Mobile Devices Data Security in Businesses

Data security risk from mobile device theftUp to just a couple of years ago the only mobile data security risks that companies had to worry about was a lost laptop. With smartphones, netbooks, tables, work-from-home employees, etc. a company’s data vulnerability points have increased exponentially. IT has a very difficult time trying to secure data. One solution has been the ban of all personal mobile devices at the workplace until mobile device management is implemented.

 

Causes of Mobile Data Security Theft

  • Companies do not train employees on what is expected of them when they are out of the office with a company computer.
  • Disgruntled employees are often found to steal laptops from employers.
  • About 12,000 laptops are lost every week at U.S. airports.
  • Most laptops do not have a computer-tracing device and thieves are aware of this.
  • Most laptops do not have an advanced encryption to deter thieves and protect data.
  • Laptops and their data are very valuable to thieves and are easy handle.
  • Identity thieves target computers to get personal information like your email messages, your age, your name, your birth date,  Social Security number and credit card and bank information, other account passwords and user name.
  • There is more security applications and controls for laptop computers than for any other mobile device.
  • An employee’s personal mobile device is also used to access the company network and data.

 

Statistics on Mobile Data Security

  • Over 5.5M computers stolen in the US in the last three years. – 8th Annual 2010 BSI Computer
  • 68% of the computer stolen were laptops., -BSI Computer Theft Survey,
  • Forty-six percent of respondents report the estimated value of proprietary data on their stolen computing device at $25,000 or less; 46.5 % estimated the value at between $25,000 and $1,000,000. ; 6.5% estimated the value at $1,000.000 or more and 1% estimated the value at more than $10,000,000.
  • About 21% of respondents use only a log-on password to protect their computer; 29% recorded and stored the make, model and serial number of the computer in case of theft; and almost three quarters (70%) used no security precautions to safeguard their computing device from theft.
  • According to the 2010 Annual US Cost of a Data Breach Study, 35% of US organizations reported that a lost or stolen mobile device caused a data security breach.
  • The average cost of a data breach involving a lost or stolen mobile device was $258 per record. The average cost of a data breach in 2010 is $7.2M per incident. – Ponemon Institute, 2011
  • Typically employees use their smartphones for business phone calls, Internet browsing, corporate email, credit or debit card payments, customer relationship management, travel assistance, password storage, and contact management. – Ponemon Institute, 2011