Remote working has accelerated the erosion of the traditional network perimeter and created new IT security challenges for CISOs as a result. Now, 87% of EMEA CISOs claim that mobile devices have become the focal point of their Cybersecurity Strategies.
Cybersecurity Strategies
Ivanti Inc., the automation platform that helps make every IT connection smarter and more secure, today announced the results of a survey, which revealed that the emergence of the everywhere enterprise has shifted CISO priorities away from combating network security threats and towards mitigating mobile security risks. Almost nine in ten (87%) CISOs surveyed agreed that mobile devices have become the focal point of their cybersecurity strategies, and four in five (80%) CISOs stated that passwords are no longer an effective means of protecting enterprise data, as hackers are increasingly targeting remote workers and mobile devices.
The Rise of Remote Work
The study, which polled 400 CISOs across EMEA, found 82% of respondents agree that remote work has accelerated the demise of the traditional network perimeter, and has subsequently given rise to a host of new IT security challenges. Today, the main challenges that CISOs face involve ensuring only trusted users, devices, networks, and apps can access company data:
- Almost half (45%) of respondents cited employees leveraging unsecured Wi-Fi to access business resources as a top IT security challenge during the pandemic.
- Two-fifths (40%) of CISOs cited employees using their own devices to access corporate data as a top IT security challenge.
- One-third (33%) cited employees using unauthorised apps to access corporate data as a top IT security challenge.
Additional Measures
While nearly all (93%) CISOs stated that they had effective solutions in place to enable the unexpected shift to remote work at the start of the pandemic, nearly all (92%) also stated they need additional IT security measures to better enable remote workers and address the new mobile threat landscape. Looking ahead, almost two-thirds (64%) of CISOs plan to invest in mobile threat detection software. And more than half (58%) noted that enhancing user experiences, improving authentication to remote applications (57%), and moving critical business applications to the cloud (52%) will be top priorities this year.
“The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for CISOs to ensure that working from anywhere, on any device, is just as safe as working from the office, on a corporate-owned laptop,” said Nigel Seddon, VP of EMEA West at Ivanti. “The emergence of the everywhere enterprise – where IT infrastructures are everywhere, and distributed employees need access to corporate data everywhere – has dramatically changed the role of the CISO and put mobile device security firmly under the spotlight. CISOs must now place greater emphasis on enabling, securing, and optimising mobile work environments.”
