Mobile cybersecurity continues to create awareness among business users who are worried about the access that third parties may gain to their systems. For too many years, this aspect of cybersecurity has been surprisingly neglected, even when facing an unprecedented rise in the use of mobile devices as smartphones and tablets.
These devices have full access to corporate networks in modern work environments. Therefore, they are valid gateways to gather sensitive data that can be sold afterward by hackers.
The good news is that mobile cybersecurity investments are expected to increase in a significant fashion next year, this according to a Lookout survey that took place at the most recent RSA event at the Moscone Center, San Francisco.
The Findings
Let’s begin with the premise that widely varied industries are planning to increase their investment in mobile cybersecurity in the following 12 months. The survey conducted by Lookout during the event showed that 52 percent of the surveyed companies are planning to increase their mobile security spend. This meaning that awareness about the problem and its consequences are becoming clearer, more evident.
Another interesting finding was that 1 in 10 surveyed attendees reported that they have suffered a mobile cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months, not only meaning that cybercrimes of this natures are on the rise but also the capacity of companies to detect and report them.
Finally, it was reported by surveyed RSA attendees that 76 percent use personally-owned mobile devices to access corporate services like email, cloud storage, databases, and CRM platforms. This is an important problem in corporate cybersecurity, one that doesn’t seem near to end.
Professionals using personally-owned devices to manage corporate data is one of the biggest causes of data breaches as they do not treat laptops, smartphones, and tablets with the same privacy considerations as they may do with business-owned assets. They continue to use these devices for their personal needs, which includes installing a wide array of apps that may be infected by malware or browsing unsecured websites.
A Darker Panorama
Surprisingly, the Lookout survey at the recent RSA event has been fairly optimistic when it comes to how many companies are suffering mobile security incidents these days. The Verizon Mobile Security Index 2019 shows a different, more disturbing reality for corporations.
According to Verizon’s report, 1 in 3 companies admitted that they have suffered a mobile security incident or a breach related to mobile devices in the past 12 months, which is a lot more in comparison with the results shown by the Lookout survey.
In 2018, 27 percent of the surveyed companies reported a breach. That number went up to 33 percent in the 2019 edition of the survey. As we mentioned before, it’s also possible that attacks aren’t just getting more frequent but the capacity to detect them has expanded.
The Bottom Line
With increasing awareness in terms of mobile security incidents being experienced by businesses, the most reasonable thing to occur is a rise in investments to enhance the cybersecurity systems already implemented or next-to implement.
Now, the numbers promise that corporate spending in this matter is going to increase significantly in the short term and, most likely, long term. This means good news for a sector with effective solutions to offer.