Survey: Half Of Companies Can't Manage Risks Of Their IP-Connected Devices

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) April 7, 2011

Mocana, a company that focuses on smart device security, released a study focusing on the fast-growing impact of security threats to non-PC devices. Connected devices like smartphones, M2M and industrial automation, smartgrid, medical and automobile electronics already outnumber PCs on the Internet by five to one. Mocana’s survey, released the same week as Symantec’s annual Internet Security Threat Report, is important because devices most of these devices have little capability to protect themselves from hacking, malware or data theft. In a key finding, more than 47 percent of responders said that they didn’t believe their organization could adequately manage the risks posed by devices already deployed.

The Mocana Spring 2011 Device Security Report is available here: http://www.mocana.com/spring2011

Related Infographics are available here: http://www.mocana.com/newsletter/images/epidemic-ready_2011.jpg

and here: http://mocana.com/newsletter/images/iceberg_083010.pdf

Survey Details Mocana distributed the survey to thousands of professionals; a demographic mix heavily weighted towards information technology professionals, device manufacturers and embedded experts. They were asked a series of questions about device security problems facing their specific organizations, as well as their perception of their industry’s ability to deal with mounting device security threats. As the demographic of this survey was technical and device industry-focused, it is thought that this data will be useful as “leading indicators” of the emerging device security issue for enterprises and consumers in general.

Devices Proliferate; Organizations “Can’t Adequately Manage the Risks” In Mocana’s 2011 Mobile and Smart Devices Security Survey, respondents showed substantially increased awareness of connected smart devices—the Internet of Things—and the rapidly growing risks associated with them. Survey results seemed to indicate that in general, companies know they aren’t prepared to handle device security breaches – even the ones that are already happening, such as the seemingly legitimate Android apps that carried a malicious "Trojan" that were downloaded more than 50,000 times over the course of a few days from the Android Market. The Mocana survey suggests that companies don’t yet have the security tools or expertise in place to handle device security problems. But organizations seem to be going “full steam ahead” with device rollouts, anyway – which may dramatically increase the business, financial and liability impacts of future device security breaches.

“It’s more than a little risky,” Mocana CEO Adrian Turner said. “It’s a little bit like everyone in the country deciding to send five million kids to kindergarten without measles or polio immunizations – and just hoping for the best.”

Mobile Device Security Incidents Growing Fast Symantec’s Internet Security Threat Report, released Tuesday, found a 42 percent increase in the number of reported new mobile operating system vulnerabilities over the past year. The Mocana follow-on report, released today, showed that 71 percent said they were concerned about security of mobile phones. Sixty-four percent said that attacks on smart devices already required the regular attention of their IT staff, or would this year. But interestingly, 63 percent said their organization had already deployed smart devices, despite these concerns. Fifty-four percent said security issues around non-PC devices had already caused disruption to their networks. But 51 percent said their organizations still did not regularly update or patch against device threats - on even a once-a-month basis.

Turner said, “Securing the ‘Internet of Things’ is going to be challenging. With products ranging from medical devices, office printers, smart phones and household appliances to smart grid utility meters, security cameras and industrial controls, there’s no ‘software box’ you can buy to protect them.” He continued, “Why? Device security is a tough nut to crack. Processor limitations, memory constraints, battery life and a slew of other idiosyncrasies particular to device environments make device security technically difficult. But with so many more devices than PCs on the Internet, it’s crucial. Now is the time to address smart device security head-on.”

About Mocana Mocana is developing the industry's only device-independent Smart Device Security platform that secures all aspects of IP addressable devices as well as the information, applications and services that run on them. Every day, millions of people use products sold by over 150 companies that leverage Mocana's Device Security solutions, including Cisco, Honeywell, Dell, General Electric, General Dynamics, Avaya and Harris, among others. Mocana recently won Frost & Sullivan's Technology Innovation of the Year award for Device Security, and was named to the Red Herring Global 100 as one of the "top 100 privately-held technology companies in the world".