Despite the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture being praised by organisations, three quarters of them also believe that this new model poses an increased security threat.
That’s according to research by Claranet, which surveyed 250 senior IT decision-makers in a range of businesses and public sector organisations.
It found that 72 percent of organisations currently have a mobile working service that enables employees to access corporate networks remotely, either on corporate-owned or personal devices.
However, significant security concerns persist, with 70 percent of organisations identifying worries over increased data loss, while 51 percent fear that mobile working leads to less control over how data is used. A further 50 percent believe it poses a greater risk of unauthorised access to IT systems.
The research also revealed a general failure to implement a formal BYOD strategy, with only 26 percent reporting that they had a specific policy in place.
Just over a third of those queried also said they didn’t allow employees to use their personal devices to access corporate networks, and 10 percent said they actively seeked to discourage BYOD.
Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said organisations urgently needed to formulate a mobile working strategy, whether they approved of BYOD or not.
He said this was because it was impossible to ignore the reality of technically savvy employees who rely on mobile devices for personal and business use.
