20/04/2015 01:03 AST
Aruba Networks, Inc. is calling for businesses in Saudi Arabia to take action as a new mobile security risk report reveals that businesses are ill prepared for the high-risk, high-growth mindset of the #GenMobile workforce, creating alarming disparity around security practices in the corporate world.
The chasm that is exposed between age, gender, income level, industry and geographic location has a direct effect on the security of corporate data.
The ‘Securing #GenMobile: Is Your Business Running the Risk?’ security threat study, which questioned workers in Saudi as part of a larger global survey of more than 11,500 workers across 23 countries, showcases that employee attitudes are swaying toward a more sharing, security-agnostic workplace.
The study shows that highly regulated and tech savvy industries, higher-earning males, and emerging markets pose the greatest risk to enterprise data security.
Aruba believes three key trends highlight how #GenMobile is paving the way for risk-prone behavior in the workforce — which is both good and bad for business.
Below are survey results from Saudi Arabia, which are in line with global results:
• Sharing becomes the norm: 55 percent share their work and personal devices with others regularly. 17 percent of employees don’t have passwords on devices, with 13 percent of those stating they don’t have security measures in place so that they can share more easily.
• Security agnostic attitudes arise: Security ranks fifth behind brand and operating system when #GenMobile is making buying decisions for new devices. Nearly eight in ten (77 percent) assume their IT departments will keep them protected; however, nearly a third (33 percent) have lost data due to the misuse of a mobile device.
• Self-empowerment succeeds: Nearly half (46 percent) of workers today said they are willing to disobey their boss to get something done, another (53 percent) say that mobile technologies enable them to be more productive and engaged, and over three quarters (71 percent) are willing to perform self-service IT.
“#GenMobile workers are flexible, transparent and collaborative, willing to take action to drive productivity and business growth. That said, these employees are also far more willing to share company data, and are notably oblivious toward security,” said Ben Gibson, CMO of Aruba Networks.
However, as this high-risk culture enters the enterprise, the report finds an alarming level of disparity among industries, individuals and countries when it comes to the treatment of mobile devices and data:
The Discrepancy Between Industries (Global data)
• Finance is leaking data: Believe it or not, 39 percent of respondents from financial institutions admit to losing company data through the misuse of a mobile device, which is 25 percent higher than the average across all industries surveyed. The public sector (excluding education) is the least likely to report lost or stolen data.
• High tech is at high risk: High tech employees are nearly two times (46 percent) more likely than hospitality or education workers to simply give up their device password if asked for it by IT.
• Teachers need a lesson on security: The study reveals that educators are 28 percent more likely to store passwords on a sheet of paper compared to those in high tech. Educators also score the lowest compared to all other industries when asked if they password-protected their personal smartphones.
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