BT recently announced innovations to its BT Assure security portfolio which are designed to help organisations better address a wide array of security issues and protect the trust required for business to be successful. These innovations focus on the risks posed by the growing presence of personal devices on corporate networks, the large scale deployment of cloud solutions and the challenges of ‘big data’, the large amounts of unstructured data inherent in contemporary commerce, the company said.
According to BT, an exclusive survey of more than 2,000 users and decision makers across 11 countries shows that risks to business are moving too fast for a purely reactive security approach to be successful. The BT “Rethink the Risk” research results also demonstrate that the traditional secure outer perimeter of enterprise networks no longer exists and confirms that specific tools are required to measure, understand and address this new security reality.
According to the research, cyber security threats, accidental or intentional employee data loss and increasing use of personal devices on employers networks are the three biggest security risks perceived by IT decision-makers. In particular, BYOD is making progress within the corporate environment, with 60% of employees using personal devices for work, with especially high usage in countries such as China and India (92% and 80%)
The BT research also shows that 82% of companies say they already allow BYOD or will do within the next 24 months. The adoption of BYOD brings to light new security issues. Four out of ten companies have experienced security breaches due to people bringing in unauthorised devices. Of those companies that do have a BYOD policy, security was by far the biggest challenge (74%), the research found. Interestingly, the board and senior management are the second largest group of people demanding BYOD, just behind IT people and power users.
In order to help CSOs and CIOs rethink the risk, BT has launched a number of innovations to its BT Assure portfolio including Assure Secure Web, Assure Analytics, Assure Cyber, Mobility Lifecycle Management and Assure Evaluator.
Wael A. El-Kabbany, MD, Middle East and North Africa, BT Global Services, said, “The best companies understand that commerce is ultimately a trust relationship. Technical ecosystems can however sometimes fail to meet their ambitions, challenging the trust between companies, their customers, and their supporting players. Our customers face new opportunities to proactively lead with security, placing security firmly in the heart of the boardroom. By promoting intelligence and innovation through our BT Assure portfolio, we help our customers to identify, implement and deliver security where it matters most, building it into the heart of the organisation rather than just bolting it on. Trust needs to be backed by a continuous investment program in skilled people, as well as state of the art global infrastructure and security management systems. This is definitely the time to rethink the risk.”
