43 Percent of Enterprises Sacrifice Mobile Security, Says Verizon Report

According to a recent Verizon report, 43 percent of enterprises are sacrificing mobile security. The company released the 2020 Mobile Security Index Report, which surveyed 876 IT professionals responsible for security of mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Verizon also worked closely with other leading vendors in mobile device security to gain additional insights. Verizon found that while the number of companies that sacrifice mobile security is shrinking, more companies have suffered a mobile security compromise.

The results showed that fewer companies are sacrificing mobile security — 43 percent in 2020 as opposed to 48 percent in 2019. This is an encouraging statistic, but unfortunately, the number of companies that were comprised increased from 33 percent to 39 percent. Of those who suffered a mobile security compromise, 55 percent responded that the compromise was major (in that it involved lasting repercussions).

Verizon’s survey asked questions about how and why enterprises sacrifice mobile security in the survey. 62 percent of respondents answered that time-related concerns, such as expediency, drove them to sacrifice mobile security. Other popular reasons for not paying attention to mobile security include convenience, profitability targets, lack of budget, and lack of expertise.

The company noted that businesses who suffer a security breach are likely to increase spend on mobile security. Nearly half of enterprises that had been compromised said that spending on mobile security had increased in the past 12 months, and that they also expect it to increase in the next 12 months. However, Verizon laments in the report that this proves a serious problem in the business world: many organizations don’t care about improving security until they suffer a security breach. As the mobile threat landscape continues to evolve, companies need to take precautions to stop attacks before they even happen by setting up proactive mobile security monitoring tools.

Download the 2020 Mobile Security Index Report here. Learn more about Verizon here.