Security Pros Worry Most About Mobile Threats, But Most Have No Way To Detect Them

Security professionals are worried about mobile device vulnerabilities, but most have no good way to detect them.

That's one of the conclusions of a new study from Tenable Network Security, which polled security professionals at the RSA Conference in San Francisco earlier this month.

According to the study, nearly 70 percent of attendees said that mobile device vulnerability management is "very important" when compared with other security initiatives. But 68 percent of respondents said that they currently have no way of identifying known mobile device vulnerabilities that could be affecting their networks.

Nearly all of the survey respondents said that mobile devices present a security threat to their businesses, yet 67 percent said they either have no controls in place for mobile device usage on their networks, or that employees simply ignore existing mobile device usage policies.

All of the respondents expect their businesses to increase their mobile capabilities in 2012, according to the study. Nearly half (44 percent) of attendees said their organizations plan to invest $50,000 to $100,000 in mobile device security during the next 12 to 15 months. Another 33 percent said their organizations will invest $15,000 to $50,000.

According to the study, protecting sensitive customer data is the top goal for security professionals when it comes to mobile device security. Nearly half (46 percent) listed "data leakage" as the top concern when a mobile device is lost, stolen, or hacked.

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