Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistical information about a website’s traffic. On April 15, 2013 Google released a report on mobile browsing. The report stated that browsing from a mobile device has become meaningfully faster. In fact, mobile browsing is comparable to a desktop experience at times.
eMarketer recently released a report stating that by the year 2017, about 25 percent of online retail transactions in the U.S. will be done on mobile devices. Christmas 2012 saw more tablets being activated than ever before. This was accompanied by more apps being downloaded for both smartphones and tablets than at any other time.
What does this all mean? It essence, it just shows that more people are using their personal mobile devices to accomplish more tasks on a daily basis. Not only are people using mobile devices at home, but they are also taking these devices to work with them. Once they are in the office, employees will use them as part of their working toolset. This is known as “bring your own device” (BYOD).
With the advent of all these mobile devices being brought to work, there has never been more need for mobile security. Once these devices are brought into a BYOD environment, they are used to access company information and then mobile security has to become part of the company’s policy.
Market research firm iGR conducted a survey in February 2013. The results showed how small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are adopting BYOD policies. While some companies have started to create policies, some just take the “if I don’t see it, you are not doing anything wrong” approach.
While this is an approach that SMBs can utilize, larger companies and enterprises need to have a plan in place before personal mobile devices can be used. Without the security measures that are taken with all the other company equipment, personal mobile devices become a vulnerability.
As with all technology, the main concern for a company has to be security. While it is great to have the convenience of using your personal tablet at work, if it is not secure, then it will cause much more damage to the company than it will save time for the employee.
On July 23, 2013 TMC will hold its SecureIT Conference in New York City. The conference will be held at the NYU Kimmel Center. SecureIT will look at protecting your enterprise in a BYOD world. BYOD poses some interesting questions concerning the security of your company’s data.
TMC president and conference chairman Rich Tehrani said, "As BYOD becomes the norm in enterprises, it is essential for companies to be aware and armed with the information they need to combat potential security threats to their systems. In an age where a single malware family dubbed BadNews has rapidly infected over 9 million Android devices, we believe the SecureIT Conference is the best resource for industry security information to combat such threats."
With all of the opportunity that BYOD brings to the office, it can also bring the same amount of misfortune. If something becomes a security risk then it cannot be a benefit to either the employee or the company. It becomes imperative for companies to provide enterprise security knowledge and tactics to their IT professionals. Face it, to make your life easier the IT professional usually has to work overtime. Trust me; in a previous life I was a network manager for the better part of 20 years.
The SecureIT Conference will focus on a lot of issues as they relate to BYOD and how to keep enterprise information safe. TMC's SecureIT Conference is supported by platinum sponsor Cisco.
Edited by
Rich Steeves 
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