IDC: Humans Are the Weakest Link in Mobile Security

IDC: Humans Are the Weakest Link in Mobile Security

A new report from IDC entitled "Enterprise Mobile Device Security: Development Guidance to Tackle the Mobile Security Minefield" examined the need for enterprise mobile security, especially within the mobile banking and payment arena, and discussed core measures for enterprises to boost mobile security.

"By 2012, the Asia/Pacific region will command 47% of the global smartphone pie, which is equivalent to 541 million units (See Figure 1). With the rise of smartphones, IDC expects malicious mobile software - or malware such as viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware and other rouge applications - to increase exponentially as we move into the future and this will in return amplify demand for mobile security solutions in Asia/Pacific," commented Li-May Chew, CFA, Associate Director for IDC Financial Insights Asia/Pacific Financial Advisory Service.

In addition to this, the prevalence of consumerization coupled with increasing popularity of mobile banking, payments and wealth management schemes indicates that this will soon become a very prominent vector of attack.

IDC recommends preventive measures like MDM (Mobile Device Management) such as robust security tools to remotely secure, monitor, encrypt and manage data, and MAM (Mobile Application Management) to secure and control corporate data and applications on an app-by-app basis.

Also, Chew stressed that, “Nonetheless, it is not all about installing stringent mobile security features. As cliché as it may sound, we - device owners and end-users - are typically the weakest link when it comes to information security. It is thus up to enterprises to increase employee awareness of these threats and introduce programs to inculcate secure practices in the work environment.”

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