Risks from external and internal threats are continuously increasing. A recent Cisco study points out that existing security solutions may not withstand challenges of BYOD and mobility
Bring your own device (BYOD), mobility, cloud computing and virtualisation might hold the promise to bring in increased enterprise productivity gains, but they are also identified as majors areas of concern for data security. With the recent security breach at the two card processing firms based out of Pune and Bangalore still fresh in the minds of people, a recent study by Cisco and the Data Security Council of India reveals that existing security solutions may not withstand challenges of the above mentioned trends in the IT landscape.
First, a look at some of the key findings from the study. Enterprises as well as employees are embracing mobility because of improved employee productivity and enhanced user experience. An overwhelming 66% of security leaders in India encourage employees to bring in their devices to work and 44% allow employees to select and use a specific set of personal devices.
The study is based on in-depth interviews with over 90 top security leaders and CIOs across industry verticals with a focus on BFSI, IT/ITeS, engineering services and PSU in India.
The study titled ?Reinventing the Network in the Context of Security? sought to understand the characteristics and challenges of current security threats. It also outlined what the industry needs to do to develop forward-leaning security capabilities to guard against ever-evolving cyber threats.
As BYOD gathers pace, 72% of security leaders have witnessed an increased demand for flexibility in using endpoint devices. That said, 59% also believe that rigid policies around the endpoints are frustrating business users. There has been a significant increase (64%) in requests for authorising access to mobile devices. Around 58% of the security leaders said that they allow controlled access to emails and calendars and 40% offer desktop virtualisation access from any device.
The adoption of cloud is increasing, but enterprises are hesitant to allow data to cross organisational boundaries. While 52% of the security leaders that were surveyed agreed that they see an increasing adoption of cloud-based applications, 40% of them said that this causes data to be placed away from the firm?s boundaries.
There are growing challenges in managing the network. Around 77% of the security leaders said that the attacks are originating from multiple channels and the attack payload is getting increasingly advanced. More than two-thirds (69%) of them reveal that managing policies and configuration of devices is a complex undertaking.
As per the survey, 56% of the respondents felt that current solutions are ineffective in managing the security of mobile, BYOD and virtualisation. An alarming 53% of security leaders said that their existing solutions are incompetent to withstand sophisticated, targeted and persistent attacks.
The study also revealed that the current generation of security capabilities implemented by organisations in India can protect them from traditional threats, but might not be enough to address the ever-evolving threat landscape. Therefore, enterprises need to re-assess their security ecosystem and evaluate capabilities of next-generation security if they want to implement BYOD .
Vinayak Godse, director?data protection, Data Security Council of India said, ?The IT infrastructure has evolved from a limited set of corporate devices to include a repertoire of end-user applications, device and usage patterns. Hence, organisations are concerned about the targeted and organised nature of threats which are directed at achieving specific objectives. The technology transformation driven by mobility, BYOD, virtualisation and cloud challenges the conventional security strategies in many aspects.?
The internet has become a dangerous place in which to do business. The key is to maintain a strong defence on several fronts in order to stay secure online.
