A study on BYOD practices by Cisco and Mobile Work Exchange shows that government agencies have better security practices than the private sector. Data for the report was collected from 155 government employees as well as 97 private sector employees. 90% of the public sector employees use work-related mobile devices with 78% storing files securely
60% of the private sector employees interviewed had downloaded non-work related apps on work devices and only 13% of these employees were required to have security training.
“In the near future, the number of mobile devices will exceed the world’s population, and by 2017, we expect more than 10 billion connected mobile devices,” says Cisco vice president Larry Payne. “With the proliferation of devices, security continues to be a major concern.”
Key findings on government employees:
- 15% have downloaded an app unrelated to work;
- 10% have opened emails and texts from unknown senders;
- 31% have used public Wi-Fi from their work-related device;
- 52% do not use data encryption/multi-factor authentication;
- 53% are required to have security training.
“Ensuring policies are being enforced is the best way to secure critical government data,” says Cindy Auten, general manager of Mobile Work Exchange. ” Closing this gap equips government employees with the knowledge to thwart potential security breaches.”
The full report can be accessed here.
