IBM: Mobile app security stinks
That was the major conclusion from an IBM/Ponemon study released today which found large companies, including many in the Fortune 500 aren't properly securing mobile apps they build for customers nor their corporate and BYOD mobile devices. (Read the entire study.)
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The study which researched security practices in over 400 large organizations found:
"Building security into mobile apps is not top of mind for companies, giving hackers the opportunity to easily reverse engineer apps, jailbreak mobile devices and tap into confidential data," said Caleb Barlow, vice president of Mobile Management and Security at IBM in a statement. "Industries need to think about security at the same level on which highly efficient, collaborative cyber criminals are planning attacks."
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At any given time, malicious code is infecting more than 11.6 million mobile devices opening up a large new world of data for cyber thieves to raid. According to IBM X-Force research, in 2014 alone, over 1 billion pieces of personally identifiable information were compromised as a result of cyber-attacks.
The also study noted that the upward trend in mobile cyber thievery is compounded by the blurry line between professional and personal mobile use.
"A significant majority of organizations 67% - allow their employees to download non-vetted apps on their work devices. By rooting a BYOD or corporate device through the many security flaws which exist in unsecured apps, hackers can easily access sensitive files and documents, personal data, or hijack a device's camera or microphone to spy on business meetings," the study found.