Global Study by Aruba Networks Confirms the
Need to Identify and Support High-Risk, Security-lax Employees to
Protect Sensitive Data
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) is calling for businesses
worldwide to take action as a new mobile security risk report
reveals that businesses are ill prepared for the high-risk,
high-growth mindset of the #GenMobile workforce, creating alarming
disparity around security practices in the corporate world. The
chasm that is exposed between age, gender, income level, industry
and geographic location has a direct effect on the security of
corporate data.
The “Securing #GenMobile: Is Your Business Running the Risk”
security threat study, which questioned over 11,500 workers across
23 countries worldwide, showcases that employee attitudes are
swaying towards more sharing of devices yet an indifferent view to
security in the workplace. The study shows that highly regulated
and tech savvy industries, higher-earning males, and emerging
markets pose the greatest risk to enterprise data security.
Aruba believes three key trends highlight how #GenMobile is
paving the way for risk-prone behavior in the workforce – which can
be both good and bad for business.
- Sharing becomes the norm: Six in
ten share their work and personal devices with others regularly.
Nearly a fifth of employees don’t have passwords on devices, with
22% of those stating they don’t have security measures in place so
that they can share more easily.
- Indifferent attitudes towards
security arise: Security ranks fifth behind brand and operating
system when #GenMobile is making buying decisions for new devices.
Nearly nine in ten (87%) assume their IT departments will keep them
protected; however, nearly a third (31%) have lost data due to the
misuse of a mobile device.
- Self-empowerment succeeds: Over
half (56%) of workers today said they are willing to disobey their
boss to get something done, another (51%) say that mobile
technologies enable them to be more productive and engaged, and
over three quarters (77%) are willing to perform self-service
IT.
“#GenMobile workers are flexible, transparent and collaborative,
willing to take action to drive productivity and business growth.
That said, these employees are also far more willing to share
company data, and are notably oblivious towards security,” said Ben
Gibson, CMO of Aruba Networks.
However, as this high-risk culture enters the enterprise, the
report finds an alarming level of disparity among industries,
individuals and countries when it comes to the treatment of mobile
devices and data:
The Discrepancy Between Industries
- Finance is leaking data: Believe
it or not, 39% of respondents from financial institutions admit to
losing company data through the misuse of a mobile device, which is
25% higher than the average across all industries surveyed. The
public sector (excluding education) is the least likely to report
lost or stolen data.
- High tech is at high risk: High
tech employees are nearly two times (46%) more likely than
hospitality or education workers to simply give up their device
password if asked for it by IT.
- Teachers need a lesson on
security: The study reveals that educators are 28% more likely
to store passwords on a sheet of paper compared to those in high
tech. Educators also score the lowest compared to all other
industries when asked if they password-protected their personal
smartphones.
Spotting the Risky Individual
- Males more prone to data theft:
Men are 20% more likely to have lost personal or client data due to
the misuse of a smartphone, and 40% more likely than females to
fall victim to identity theft.
- Younger employees wreak havoc on
company security: Respondents over the age of 55 are half as
likely to experience identity theft or loss of personal/client data
compared to younger employees. The age bracket with the highest
propensity of data and identity theft are employees between 25-34
years old.
- Larger salaries linked to greater
security risk: Employees earning more than $60K are more than
twice as likely as employees earning less than $18K to have lost
company financial data, and 20% more likely to lose personal data
due to misuse or theft of a mobile device. Ironically, when offered
money, those that earn greater than $75K were three times as likely
to give out their device password as respondents making less than
$18K.
Mapping Global Risk Trends
- High-risk, high growth: The
emerging and growth markets of China, Thailand and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), are found to exhibit the highest risk behaviors
worldwide suggesting that greater risk-taking is linked to
increased growth and opportunity as much as it relates to security
risk.
- West is playing it safe: To
support this connection, the least risk-prone countries are the
westernized markets, including the USA, UK and Sweden.
Businesses lacking adaptability
The study suggests that businesses may not be prepared for what
lies ahead with over a third (37%) not having any type of basic
mobile security policy in place. Nearly a fifth (18%) of employees
do not use password protection on their devices, suggesting that
employers aren’t enforcing some basic security practices.
Aruba contends that if businesses strategically measure and
intelligently manage their security, the more flexible, open
methods of working and information exchange that #GenMobile workers
bring can drive new business innovation.
“Organizations should strive to build a secure and operational
framework for all workers, rather than stifle them. These trends
underline that #GenMobile employees continue to be a growing part
of the everyday workforce, but they also bring with them some risky
behaviors,” said Gibson.
“In a contemporary connected world, firms need to nurture
creativity, while at the same time minimize the risk of data and
information loss. As a result, employers need to take an adaptive
trust approach to connectivity and data security, identifying
individual worker preferences that factor multiple layers of
contextual information in order to build secure infrastructures
around them.”
Run Your Risk
Using this global data, Aruba has developed an online Security
Risk Index tool to allow organizations to benchmark their Mobile
Security risk levels relative to organizations in their country and
industry.
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba Networks is a leading provider of next-generation network
access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs and
delivers Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and
#GenMobile, a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their
mobile devices for every aspect of work and personal communication.
To create a mobility experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely
upon, Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide
performance optimization and trigger security actions that used to
require manual IT intervention. The results are dramatically
improved productivity and lower operational costs.
Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in
Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas,
Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. To learn
more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com. For real-time
news updates follow Aruba on Twitter and Facebook, and for the
latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products visit
Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2015 Aruba Networks, Inc. Aruba Networks’ trademarks include
Aruba Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized), Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®,
People Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®,
RFProtect®, Green Island®, ETips®, ClientMatchTM, Virtual Intranet
AccessTM, ClearPass Access Management SystemsTM, Aruba InstantTM,
ArubaOSTM, xSecTM, ServiceEdgeTM, Aruba ClearPass Access Management
SystemTM, AirmeshTM, AirWaveTM, Aruba CentralTM, and “ARUBA@WORKTM.
All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150414005111/en/
Aruba Networks, Inc.Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294Director,
Corporate Communicationspradda@arubanetworks.comorLSH
Communications for Aruba NetworksLori Hultin,
+1-818-879-4651lhultin@arubanetworks.comorWaggener EdstromTom
Woods, +44 (0) 207 632 3876twoods@waggeneredstrom.com