Understanding Your Risk: The Top Mobile Security Issues Decoded

Cyber security is a top priority at every company as threats proliferate and the cost of a data breach continues to increase. According to the 2015 Cost of Data Breach study from the Ponemon Institute, between 2014 and 2015 the cost of a data breach due to malicious or criminal attacks increased from an average of $159 to $170 per record, with an average total cost of $3.79 million.

These breaches can result in the loss of customers’ personal information, damage to the company’s brand, direct financial losses, lost productivity, and in many cases class action lawsuits. Mobile devices like laptops and smartphones can present a unique vulnerability to security risks if precautions aren’t taken. According to Ponemon’s Cost of Insecure Mobile Devices in the Workplaces report (2014), the estimated cost per company resulting from lost or stolen mobile devices averages $3.44 million per year; the cost of malware-infected devices averages $3.65 million per year. Sixty-three percent of respondents said that data breaches involving mobile devices occurred in their organizations, and 49 percent said that they did not have adequate security or control features on those devices. The Bitglass 2014 Healthcare Breach Report found that 68 percent of all healthcare data breaches since 2010 were due to device theft or loss.