OREANDA-NEWS. May 19, 2015. Many small business owners believe BYOD (bring-your-own-device) poses no threat to their company and have no interest in spending on mobile device security, while employees themselves think security is the responsibility of the business. According to a study by Kaspersky Lab, two-thirds (62%) of business owners and employees now use personal mobile devices for work, indicating that BYOD is no longer a developing trend, but a widely accepted business practice. It affects companies of all sizes, from the very large (5000+ employees) to the small (fewer than 25 employees).

However, attitudes towards protecting the information security of these devices often leave much to be desired. The consumer security risks survey found that 92% of respondents say that they keep sensitive corporative data on smartphones and tablets which they use for both work and personal activities. In addition, 60% are concerned about the threat of surveillance and information theft via mobile devices, but they do not actively protect themselves and rely on their employers to do so.

As for employers and small business owners, a third (32%) of those surveyed do not see a danger to their business in staff using personal mobile devices for work. The risk of data theft from an employee’s mobile device is not a pressing concern for them, so they do not pay much attention to it. However, representatives of larger businesses are more concerned about employees losing their mobile devices: 58% fear that the theft or loss of a device could damage the company.

Representatives of smaller businesses, who tend to be less interested in specific protection for mobile devices, believe that the basic security tools offered within free solutions should be sufficient. They don’t see any added value in spending extra money on dedicated solutions. More than 80% of respondents were not interested in information about managing the information security of mobile devices.

This kind of attitude – on the part of both device owners and their bosses – opens up a serious vulnerability for a corporate network. This weakness can potentially be exploited by cybercriminals as well as by unscrupulous competitors. There is always a chance of suffering financial losses (e.g. from a loss of client base), even if the general feeling is that a lost mobile device cannot cause any damage to the company. Moreover, according to Kaspersky Lab statistics, one in five Android users encountered a mobile threat in 2014; and 53% of such attacks were bank and SMS Trojans. Protection of the mobile environment is becoming a critical component of security.

“It is increasingly rare to come across a business professional who doesn’t use their own mobile device for work. A laptop or smartphone enables you to do a large part of your business tasks remotely, from any global location. However, the loss of important corporate data via personal devices is a common occurrence, and a negligent attitude towards the security of mobile devices could pose a serious risk to a company’s business. That is why it is important to use a reliable dedicated solution that addresses all modern requirements and market trends,” said Konstantin Voronkov, Head of Endpoint Product Management, Kaspersky Lab.

For example, Kaspersky Small Office Security, designed specifically with small business in mind, is a unique IT security solution equipped with enterprise-grade technology, including security for mobile devices. While delivering powerful award-winning anti-malware, online transactions protection, cloud management, backup and password management, Kaspersky Small Office Security allows founders to concentrate on running their business, because it is easy to use and does not require specific IT administration knowledge to protect the company network.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 17-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 400 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

*The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014–2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013.