iOS preferred over BlackBerry and Android on corporate networks

iOS preferred over Blackberry and Android on corporate networks
Source: Check Point According to a survey commissioned by security specialist Check Point, Apple devices running iOS make up the largest share of mobile operating systems on corporate networks. The IT employees surveyed rate Android as the system with the greatest security risk and believe that users are a greater security threat than hackers, regardless of the operating system.

The report from Dimensional Research is based on a survey of 768 employees responsible for IT security in companies in the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada and the US. The figures show that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets connect to the corporate network in 89% of the companies. Only devices provided by the company are allowed on about a quarter of the corporate networks, while 65% of the networks allow access to employees' private devices. That figure, at 81%, is much higher in Germany, whereas in the UK it is just 59%. In the last two years, the use of mobile devices has more than doubled on the large majority of corporate networks.

Android is considered more of a threat than iOS or Blackberry
Source: Check Point The preferred platform in the surveyed companies is iOS at 30%, beating RIM's BlackBerry (29%), Android (21%) and Windows Mobile/Phone (18%). When respondents were asked which of the three most frequently used systems represents the greatest security risk, Android (43%) was at the top of the list above iOS (36%) and BlackBerry (22%).

Overall, two thirds of those surveyed said that the number of security incidents has increased in the last two years, with more than 71% of those citing the growing number of mobile devices as a reason – employees often save sensitive client and company data on their devices, as well as confidential company emails and logins.

The biggest problem for data security, according to survey respondents, is that employees don't pay enough attention to security guidelines. Careless and inattentive users are more dangerous than hackers, according to 79% of surveyed IT employees in the UK and 55% of those in Germany.

(crve)