Global research
measures impact of compliance, wireless mobility initiatives, mobile employee
behaviour, hiring, and other business drivers on network security planning Cisco
today released a set of results from an additional international study examining
mobile workers'' security behaviour with regard to corporate security and its impact
on businesses, revealing widespread plans to increase security spending by as
much as 20 per cent next year to protect expanding wireless networks and the growing
numbers of mobile employees who access them. The
latest research builds on findings released earlier this month spotlighting the
growing trend of mobile employees and how their security behaviour can heighten
risks for business'' IT organisations as they connect to corporate networks and
carry sensitive information outside office walls. While
the previous findings involve more than 700 mobile employees in seven countries
where wireless and mobility technologies are widely adopted, the additional findings
released today reveal spending plans and business drivers for more than 700 IT
decision makers who work in those same nations - the US, the UK, Germany, China,
India, South Korea, and Singapore. Ultimately,
the global study, conducted this spring by InsightExpress, an independent market
research firm, explores what''s driving IT to invest more heavily in securing connected
business infrastructures. Their plans are driven by various business trends, such
as regulatory compliance and strategic mobility initiatives, as well as the greater
risks associated with increased collaboration among customers, vendors and partners. "Businesses
today are boosting productivity and corporate agility by enabling more employees
to connect to the corporate network via mobile technologies," said John N.
Stewart, Cisco''s chief security officer. "Employees'' awareness and behaviours
relating to mobile security are the crucial factors in protecting information
and assets." Many
mobile users say they aren''t always aware of security concerns, and their actions
provide proof. Throughout the seven countries, many mobile employees say they
access unauthorised wireless networks in public places and in their neighbourhoods.
Many say they don''t encrypt data on their wireless devices or set passwords to
prevent physical access to their information. And, inevitably, some mobile users
lose their devices or suffer from theft. With
behavioural security implications as a backdrop: more than half of the IT decision
makers surveyed (55 per cent) do not believe that the frequency of threats will
decline. As a result, three of every four IT decision makers (74 per cent) said
security spending will increase over the next fiscal year in an effort to accommodate
growing wireless and mobility requirements. Almost half (46 per cent) expect investments
to increase by more than 10 per cent, and almost one of every 10 (9 per cent)
expects spending to jump 20 per cent or more. "These
figures are significant, because a 20-per cent increase in spending on security
alone could represent hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for mid-size
and large enterprises," said Jeff Platon, vice president of security solutions
for Cisco. Aside
from the ever-present nature of security threats and behavioural concerns of mobile
employees, the research revealed business-related reasons why spending is increasing: -
Regulatory Compliance: Just over half of the IT respondents (51 per cent)
say compliance drives them to focus more on wireless security, especially in Asia,
where most respondents in China (75 per cent), India (65 per cent), and Singapore
(62 per cent) all feature a significant majority.
- Mobility
Enablement: Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of IT respondents say more employees
are being enabled to work anywhere, anytime with laptops, smartphones, or both.
Germany (74 per cent) lead the pack, followed by China and India (69 per cent),
South Korea (66 per cent), and the United States (58 per cent)
- Corporate
Growth and Hiring: More than half of the IT respondents (53 per cent) said
hiring is increasing, which naturally increases the number of employees who will
become mobile and wirelessly connected. In five of the seven countries, well over
a half of its IT respondents note this development: China (69 per cent), the United
Kingdom (64 per cent), Singapore (63 per cent), India (62 per cent) and the United
States (53 per cent)
- Capital
Expense Loss and Theft: Nine per cent of the IT respondents say spending is
increasing as a result of replacing lost or stolen devices, such as laptops, smart
phones and PDAs, most of which carry sensitive personal and corporate information.
The United States features the most alarming per centage: More than one in four
(26 per cent) US respondents say spending is increasing for this reason
"The
research really provides an opportunity for IT to reassess its relationship with
increasingly mobile user bases and consider new ways to minimize spending,"
said Ben Gibson, Cisco''s director of mobility solutions. "If you look at
it from all angles - compliance, policies, business needs, and human behavior
- technology is only half of the equation. Proactive communication, education,
and engagement of employees on safe, appropriate online behavior, especially when
they are mobile and remote, can help ensure solid returns on strategic IT investments
that bring the promise of a secure, mobile wireless business to life."
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