In what should alarm all companies with
mobile devices, even though the amount of data on suchdevices is
increasing,
levels of encryption have decreased hugely according to
research commissioned by Sybase iAnywhere.
The
survey of IT security decision makers revealed that four-fifths
of firms had sensitive business information, such as emails and
passwords, stored on their mobile devices, but barely over a
quarter had any form of encryption. This is an alarming downward
trend as the survey a year earlier indicated that 60% of companies
had sensitive data on mobile devices, of which 45% were
encrypted.
In terms of the personal responsibility they had for security on
their mobile devices, 71% of respondents said their employers
relied upon them to undertake at least one security task for their
mobile devices. Although these figures indicate a slight reduction
of personal responsibility for the security of mobile devices from
last year’s overall figure of 76%, Sybase iAnywhere says they still
suggest that organisations are continuing to place too large a
burden of responsibility for security in the hands of their users,
and are not automating these processes.
A fifth or respondents with
managed security on their devices said that speed of decryption
was an issue and 27% complained of the length of time it takes to
access their device after powering up. Nearly two-fifths regarded
the issues they face if they forget their passwords as being a
major problem.
Commented Mike Oliver, marketing manager for mobile management
and security products in Europe for Sybase iAnywhere, “These survey
results reflect the increasing use of mobile devices, but also
continue to demonstrate a worrying decrease in the encryption of
the data stored on these devices. Of those organisations that are
investing in device security, far too many are still relying on end
users to take responsibility for security protocols when these
should be automated and controlled by central IT."