@Risk

Even though business executives from around the world may be disgruntled with their jobs, most are planning to sit tight in their positions –at least for now.

Accenture recently conducted an online survey of 3,900 business executives from medium to large companies in 31 countries and found that:

• More than half of both the women (57 percent) and men (59 percent) surveyed are dissatisfied with their jobs. But even so . .  .
• More than two-thirds (69 percent) of all respondents said they do not plan to leave their current employers. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) cited flexible work arrangements as the reason for staying put.
• Underscoring earlier research which indicated a growing concern for work-life balance, the majority (59 percent) of respondents reported having some type of flexible work schedule. More than four in ten (44 percent) of this group said they have used flexible work options for more than three years. (more…)

Many employees now use mobile devices to access their company’s network. But, what happens if those devices are lost, stolen or resold to others outside the company? Could sensitive data be compromised?

The risks may be greater than you think.

Earlier this month, Motorola announced that approximately 100 out of a batch of 6,200 Xoom tablets that were refurbished by Motorola Mobility may not have been completely cleared of the original owner’s data prior to resale. An earlier analysis found that more than half of 50 mobile phones purchased from second-hand resellers on eBay contained personal data left over from their original owners.

New research from Mobilisafe, a Seattle-based mobile security company, reveals just how widespread employee mobile device use is and how little oversight IT departments are exercising –particularly at resource-constrained small and midsized businesses (SMBs).

For the study, employees at SMBs agreed to help evaluate a product that provides visibility to all mobile devices accessing their company’s network. Then, over the course of three months, Mobilisafe mapped more than 38 million employee mobile device connections, providing key data for its analysis. The interim results from the beta trial showed that: (more…)

Business travel has become standard fare for many –if not most –corporate employees.  However, recent research by American Express Global Business Travel found that corporate travel policies are often lacking updates and appropriate oversight, leaving companies exposed to losing hard-earned corporate negotiated rates, and even more importantly, putting business travelers at unnecessary risk.

American Express Global Business Travel analyzed nearly 100 travel policies of global, multinational, and mid-sized companies, and the results showed that:

• Less than one-third of these companies overall have updated their travel policies within the last year.
• Only 12 percent addressed traveler security despite it being a critical issue for companies to consider as more and more employees embark on worldwide business travel today.
• The vast majority (80 percent) did not address reimbursement of ancillary fees such as checked bags, reservation change fees, or other for-purchase services offered at hotels and car rentals
• 85 percent of global companies require an agency to book hotels. But only 35 percent of smaller companies and large international organizations do the same.
• None of the travel policies addressed the use of mobile applications or even referenced tools they may have available for travelers to use on the road or when working remotely.
• 70 percent of companies do not provide specific guidelines to travelers on when it makes sense to book airfares through a non-preferred supplier if the ticket price is less expensive.

To fill in these gaps, American Express Global Business Travel suggests that companies review their policies and focus renewed attention on: (more…)

Last month, I reported that many companies are struggling to keep pace with the compliance and risk policies necessary for effective social media governance.

Now, HP has released new global research indicating that organizations also face increased threats from an even more fundamental policy and procedures issue: poor control and oversight of sensitive and confidential workplace data.

According to the new study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, many companies say they have well-defined policies for individuals with privileged access rights to specific IT systems. However, almost 40 percent were unsure about enterprise-wide visibility into specific rights, or whether those with privileged access rights met compliance policies.

The survey, which focused on more than 5,000 IT operations and security managers across the US, the UK, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Spain, also found that: (more…)

Smartphones are embedded into today’s corporate culture. But, if you use your smartphone for both business and personal purposes, you may be putting your company at risk.

A new study from AVG Technologies found that most people are surprisingly indifferent to the many serious security risks associated with the storage and transmission of sensitive data on iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices. For example: (more…)