Warning of cyberthreat from personal devices

The risks of potential cybersecurity breaches at companies in Thailand are rising with the proliferation of mobility and the increased adoption of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) culture at the workplace, says a study.

The rise of BYOD practices can pose some serious security risks to an IT environment, says Ekpawin Sukanan, country manager of VMware Thailand.

“We’re now entering a new era where formulating digital strategies has become the top priority for companies to mitigate cybersecurity risks,” said Mr Ekpawin.

Global IT research firm Gartner estimates that by 2018, 95% of enterprises will support both choose-your-own and bring-your-own device plans.

VMware sponsored an internal study of digital workforces, conducted by global online market research firm YouGov in March this year. The study demonstrated that 2,500 respondents in four countries in Southeast Asia plus South Korea, including 500 respondents in Thailand, are at risk of data breaches.

Emails lead the way as the top source of data loss in enterprises, and up to 68% of Thai respondents use their mobile devices to check work emails.

Considering the significant number of Thais who use unapproved devices, this can significantly increase an organisation’s susceptibility to hacking and cyberattacks.

Almost one third of Thais respondents use unapproved personal devices at their workplace, while 24% of respondents do not comply with their companies’ IT policies, increasing exposure to data breaches and business risks.

The BYOD threat goes beyond hardware. About 84% of Thai respondents — the highest in the Southeast Asia region — face difficulties when using work applications.

The top challenges cited are apps not syncing properly across devices for 37% of respondents, while 31% of respondents say they have too many passwords to remember.

To overcome these challenges, 37% of the respondents tend to use the same password across devices and applications, or save them as notes on mobile devices, according to 26% of respondents.

“Employees who use the same password across the board are making themselves and their organisations prone to heightened security risks,” said Mr Ekpawin.

Once a criminal has obtained a password for one account, they can quite easily access multiple accounts and build a detailed profile of the individual, he added.

The situation is exacerbated by the fact that 52% of Thais use their mobile work devices for financial transactions — and cybercriminals follow money, he said.

The proliferation of applications and unsecured devices accessing work data is making it difficult for IT departments to ensure staff are both compliant and productive.

To address IT departments’ cybersecurity concerns and users’ difficulties accessing critical business information and processes on work applications, VMware has introduced access management and security capabilities for its VMware Workspace ONE solution.

With the rapid i ncrease of BYOD, demand for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) globally is expected to reach US$4.5 billion by 2020.

“We see EMM demand from financial services, telecommunications and the government,” said Mr Ekpawin.