Remote or mobile working erodes security in organisations

New Delhi

July 31st, 2007

According to an annual security survey conducted by SafeNet, there has been a
significant increase in the percentage of organisations that support mobile or
remote working for their staff since May 2006. The number of organisations,
which support remote working for more than 50 percent of their employee base has
risen to 26 percent, from 18 percent last year. The survey conducted in UK
showed that 61 percent of the 1,200 senior IT and security professionals
surveyed are still relying on passwords to protect their corporate networks.

Two-factor authentication has long been considered a more secure solution
than just password protection. However, just 15 percent of survey respondents
said they used tokens to secure remote access of mobile workers, only eight and
three percent respectively used smart cards and/or biometric solutions.

"An increase of eight percent of the mobile workforce really is
significant, as this could translate to hundreds of thousands of staff working
outside the office firewall," said Gary Clark, VP EMEA, SafeNet.
"However, organisations trying to reap the benefits of mobile working
without implementing adequate security technology to protect the network are
sitting on a security time bomb."

According to Deepak Prasad, VP, Global Outsourcing, SafeNet Infotech,
"Passwords have not been sufficient security for a few years now - they are
too easily compromised. Employing layers of security, such as tokens and smart
cards and granular authorisation - where network access is dependent on the
worker's location and position - is critical."

In the same survey, almost a third of respondents admitted that unauthorised
access to information systems by outsiders is their primary security concern.
"As organisations de-centralise, the amount of sensitive business
information floating outside the firewall will only continue to rise. This poses
significant security threats for businesses, causing more stress for the IT
director, as well as senior management," said Clark.

"Mobile working and security do not have to be mutually exclusive or
even a trade-off," Prasad concluded. "Organisations need to adapt
their security measures along with their working practices, to include more
flexible forms of working that allow authorised people in and keep unauthorized
people out."