Employee Use of Mobile Devices Not Up to Enterprise Security Standards

Study Shows Increasing Mobile Use by Employees but No Corresponding Increase in Security Awareness


PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 3, 2014) - Employees are engaging in risky mobile behavior, with nearly 90 percent accessing confidential information on mobile devices, despite less than a quarter of them receiving mobile security training, according to new research from the Ponemon Institute and Accellion, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise mobile solutions that enable increased productivity while ensuring data security and compliance.

The recently competed study, The Security Impact of Mobile Device Use by Employees, found that 88 percent of respondents are accessing confidential information on mobile devices. This is the new workplace reality, and enterprises need to implement solutions that will enable mobile workflows for employees, without introducing new information security risks. Only 20 percent of survey respondents say they have received security training for mobile content access and management in the workplace and of those, 74 percent say it was not effective in reducing the security risks created by the use of mobile devices.

Employees are also unaware of the risk of using unapproved mobile apps for work:

  • 66 percent of respondents say they have downloaded and used mobile apps that do not have the approval of their company.
  • Only 19 percent of respondents say they made sure the apps they downloaded did not contain viruses or malware.
  • Only 22 percent of respondents say they think such behavior puts their company at risk.

"The results from this recent Ponemon study show that employees are generally unaware of the security risks of accessing and sharing corporate information on mobile devices," said Paula Skokowski, CMO of Accellion. "Employees looking to use mobile devices to be more productive, continue to download and use potentially harmful apps and do not understand the security implications of these actions." 

The study revealed that employees are increasingly using mobile devices to be productive:

  • 62 percent say direct and convenient mobile access to corporate information is essential if they are to be productive.
  • 38 percent say the use of mobile devices makes them more efficient and the time it takes to do their job is reduced by an average of 30 minutes.

When asked, survey respondents deny knowingly putting their company's confidential information at risk with BYOD and BYOC activities, but 75% believe others in their company are doing so.

To read the entire study, please download the report

About Accellion
Accellion, Inc. provides the leading mobile content platform to increase enterprise productivity and ensure data security and compliance. The foremost provider of private cloud solutions for secure mobile content management, Accellion offers enterprise organizations the scalability, flexibility, control and security to enable a mobile workforce with the tools they need to create, access and share information securely, wherever work takes them. More than 12 million users and 2,000 of the world's leading corporations and government agencies including Procter & Gamble; Indiana University Health; Kaiser Permanente; Lovells; Bridgestone; Harvard University; Guinness World Records; US Securities and Exchange Commission; and NASA use Accellion solutions to increase business productivity, protect intellectual property, ensure compliance and reduce IT costs. For more information please visit www.accellion.com or call (650) 485-4300. Follow Accellion's Blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Accellion and kiteworks are registered trademarks of Accellion, Inc. in the US and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information:

Media contact
Caitlin Ridge
Accellion
(650) 485- 4790