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BYOD highlights security shortfall

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 22 Aug 2014
Around 52% of employees bring at least one of their own devices to work, according to Cisco.
Around 52% of employees bring at least one of their own devices to work, according to Cisco.

Although more South African companies are adopting bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, a lack of thorough IT security measures leaves infrastructure vulnerable as businesses embrace enterprise mobility.

This is according to a recent Cisco study into emerging business leaders' attitudes towards mobile device use, which notes that almost half of local companies are still in the process of working in safeguards against vulnerability.

Cisco says its research targeted 150 young business leaders who were surveyed during June and July, while respondents qualified if they were between the ages of 19 and 35, if they had at least two years' experience in their current jobs and were involved in decision-making.

Respondents also qualified if they manage people and are employed full-time and hold either a tertiary qualification or had been on a management training course paid for by their company.

Kian Ellens, sales business developer manager at Cisco SA, says "as more employees are using devices for both personal and business activities, the issues with potential loss of confidential company data increases as IT departments are less in control.

"IT managers need to acknowledge the need for a more holistic approach - one that is scalable and addresses mobility, security governance, virtualisation and network policy management; in order to keep management costs in line while simultaneously providing optimal experiences and reaping savings."

Some of Cisco's key findings are:

Mobile device usage in South African enterprises is high:

* An average of 52% of employees bring at least one of their own devices to work.
* Almost two-thirds (63%) of South African employees are allowed to use their own devices to access the company server or network.

Half of local companies are in the process of working in safeguards against BYOD vulnerability:

* Around 56% of companies have a plan in place to manage the use of personal devices for work-related purposes, while 30% have yet to implement a BYOD plan.
* The vast majority (87%) of employees are allowed to use company-issued computers for their personal reasons.
* One-half of companies have "specific restrictions that are clearly communicated to all employees" on this subject.
* Three-quarters (74%) of employees take network security either "very seriously" or it is "discussed on occasion" to remind employees of the companies policy on this subject. Meanwhile, 5% of respondents reported that network security is a topic that no one is concerned with or never discussed.

A large majority still need to realise the dangers BYOD can cause to an organisation:

* Between six and seven in 10 respondents understood the general issues surrounding BYOD.
* Around 64% of employees do not realise the dangers of BYOD.
* Around 47% agree BYOD increases IT costs.

With the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic forecast estimating there will be 98 million mobile-connected devices in SA by 2018, Cisco believes the country is rapidly approaching the time when "nearly every network experience will be a mobile one". One of the key trends resulting from this mobile explosion for enterprises is the growth of BYOD.

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