Firms see mobile devices as top IT risk

MANILA, Philippines—Yes, they may be the coolest devices on Earth, and companies are fast adopting them as employee tools, but smartphones and tablets are considered by companies here in the Philippines to be a top risk when it comes to data loss and other security incidents, according to Christina Tee of Symantec Philippines.

Tee based her statement on a survey conducted by Applied Research, which involved more than 6,000 organizations from 43 countries, including the Philippines.

Challenges

The survey focused on the challenges organizations were grappling when it came to the adoption of mobile devices. It also brought to light the change in the usage of mobile devices and applications.

With mobile devices now being used for critical business processes and data, the cost of security incidents is becoming more significant.

Globally, the average annual cost of mobile incidents including data loss, damage to brand, productivity loss, and loss of customer trust was $429,000 for enterprises. The average annual cost for mobile incidents involving small businesses worldwide was $126,000.

In the Philippines, the cost of mobile incidents stood at $80,000.

The survey also highlighted the increasing adoption of mobile applications across organizations in the Philippines, with 72 percent of enterprises already discussing deploying custom mobile applications, while 20 percent are already implementing or have already implemented custom mobile applications.

Common applications

Currently, the applications most commonly used for business on mobile devices include e-mail, instant messaging, contacts, web browser and office applications.

With the adoption of mobile devices, 74 percent of those surveyed in the Philippines expected to see increased efficiency, while 70 percent already saw efficiency gains after implementation.

In addition, 71 percent of respondents said they were already relying on mobile devices for line-of-business applications—an indication that mobile devices have become mainstream tools for organizations.

Data loss

To address data loss and mobile incidents, Tee has urged companies to establish a plan or framework to manage and secure critical data on mobile devices and implement policies on how employees should use their office-provided mobile devices.