There is a long list of consumer devices that can be hacked and the information used to access corporate or personal data. Since the Black Hat security conference in September 2013, the toilet (2) has now been added to that list, and if something as innocuous and unexpected as that can be remotely controlled by unknown forces, chances are the same thing is as easily done to a mobile device in your business environment.
"Today, everything is more connected than ever before and employees are working from a multitude of locations, some secure and some most definitely not," says Fieriaal Achmat, Kaspersky product manager at Tarsus Technologies. "If their systems are not adequately protected, or if they do not understand the value of keeping their devices secure, then your network is left exposed to threats and malicious software."
Kaspersky is known for doing a substantial amount of research into the impact of bring your own device (BYOD), alongside employee understanding and overall corporate security. Recent studies (1) have shown that many organisations are unsure as to what employees have on their mobile devices, with only 35% of IT managers admitting to having strict enough rules in place to manage these effectively. The same research indicated that one-third of companies allow their employees to use their devices with full access to the corporate network and its resources.
This level of open access without controls and stringent rules in play is in direct contravention of what's needed to keep the corporate safe. In Kaspersky's Global Report, it was revealed that 31% of those surveyed had not heard of the most common cyber threats, including direct threats to their own organisations.
"Many South African businesses are battling to educate their staff on the threats that can compromise internal security, and their own personal data too," says Achmat.
"Kaspersky created a solution that can work across multiple devices, Kaspersky Business Space Security, and delivers complete protection for workstations, laptops, smartphones and file servers. In addition, the recently released Kaspersky Internet Security Multi-Device protects almost any combination of PCs, Macs, Android smartphones and Android tablets."
Certainly it's Android that has become the Windows of the mobile space, according to Kaspersky Lab (3), and the malware to infect it is far more prevalent and rapidly devised. This cannot be ignored in light of the fact that the market share of Android sits at nearly 80%, which means users are bringing that malware into the corporate space and putting the business at risk. The channel is now able to offer the enterprise a range of security solutions that tap into the need for security without a high barrier to entry.
"Kaspersky has designed a range of solutions that can work across multiple devices and platforms without compromising on ease of use," says Achmat. "The simple fact is that users are so inundated with passwords and logins that they resort to the easiest because they are time and energy poor. What Kaspersky has done is create a solution that allows for strong authentication and security without asking too much of the user."
Today, the risk of being attacked by malware or security threats of some kind is not a maybe, it is a guarantee, so the Kasperky product range offers the channel a robust solution to present to the enterprise.
Sources:
1.http://www.kaspersky.com/downloads/pdf/kaspersky_global_it-security-risks -survey_report_eng_final.pdf?ClickID=d0rmoktwyssxhmc2bcm0hhxhtb202ccmkywy
2. http://blog.kaspersky.co.uk/hacking-a-toilet/
3.http://usa.kaspersky.com/about-us/press-center/in-the-news/android-now-mo
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