SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 21, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New research into eight critical security threats on mobile devices found the majority of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are either unaware of or defenseless against the threats posed to their networks by mobile devices and BYOD.
| The Eight Critical Threats | SMEs Unaware or With No Solution in Place |
| 1. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) | 68% |
| 2. Malicious and privacy-leaking apps | 58% |
| 3. Rooted or jailbroken devices | 57% |
| 4. DNS poisoning | 57% |
| 5. Unpatched OS versions | 56% |
| 6. Spear phishing | 55% |
| 7. Compromised Wi-Fi hotspots | 47% |
| 8. Malware, Trojans and Zero-day attacks | 35% |
The survey shows mobile security remains a significant problem for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). While 89 percent of SME IT pros are supporting remote employees, 68 percent do not have a BYOD policy in place and 74 percent have not yet implemented a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution.
The fact that SMEs are poorly prepared to protect mobile devices is in part attributable to an awareness gap, with many IT pros admitting they are not even aware of these critical threats.
| The Eight Critical Threats | Percent of SME IT Pros Unaware of the Threat |
| 1. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) | 58% |
| 2. Spear phishing | 45% |
| 3. Rooted or jailbroken devices | 31% |
| 4. DNS poisoning | 29% |
| 5. Malware, Trojans and Zero-day attacks | 21% |
| 6. Malicious and privacy-leaking apps | 20% |
| 7. Compromised Wi-Fi hotspots | 20% |
| 8. Unpatched OS versions | 17% |
The survey also made it clear that many companies want to address these security gaps immediately; 33 percent of the organizations said they planned to implement an MDM solution in the next six months.
The research was conducted by Spiceworks Voice of IT, the widely used network management and IT research community, and sponsored by Marble Security. The report, called "How to Effectively Secure Your Network Against Mobile Threats," was based on a survey of 180 IT professionals and looked into SMEs' vulnerabilities when employees' personal mobile devices are allowed network access.
"You can't defend against threats you don't understand," said Marble Security CTO and founder David Jevans. "Hackers know mobile devices are the weak point and that is where they are attacking." Jevans is also chairman of the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), a not-for-profit industry association focused on eliminating the identity theft and frauds that result from the growing problem of phishing, crimeware and email spoofing.
"The reality is that MDM alone is not a mobile security solution. Until now protecting against all of the critical threats required buying and managing multiple solutions, which is complex, heavy to manage, and expensive. That is why we introduced the Marble mobile security service. It rolls up a completely integrated solution that is effective against the eight critical threats while remaining lightweight, light touch and affordable," said Jevans.
Marble's new cloud-based mobile security service proactively protects the mobile perimeter of an enterprise against cyberattacks and data loss before breaches can occur. Marble is available immediately for iOS, Android, Mac OS, and Windows, and secures a user's multiple devices for only $3 per month. The company targets medium to large enterprises seeking comprehensive, easy-to-manage, and affordable mobile security.
Marble protects mobile devices against myriad tactics used by cybercriminals and hostile governments to break into corporate networks and steal data or disrupt service, such as advanced persistent attacks, malware, Trojans, zero day attacks, privacy leaking apps, compromised Wi-Fi hotspots, poisoned DNS and spear phishing.
More information about Marble mobile device security apps is available at www.marblesecurity.com or by calling (408) 737-4300.
About Marble Security
Marble Security, Inc., formerly IronKey, offers a mobile security cloud service that protects against the ever-changing threats unleashed into enterprises by mobile devices. Simple to use and deploy, the Marble cloud service includes patented, adaptive protection to eliminate risks to corporate data, networks and applications. Criminals, competitors and hostile governments target enterprises and end users with an ever more sophisticated array of attacks. The BYOD workforce is particularly at risk. Marble secures mobile workers' access to corporate and public networks and cloud services on Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as Macs and Windows PCs, and offers more comprehensive protection than any other solution on the market.