U.S. Businesses Lack Stringent BYOD Policies

PRESS RELEASE

San Jose, CA – March 7, 2013 – ThreatMetrix&trade, the fastest-growing provider of integrated cybercrime prevention solutions, today announced results of the ThreatMetrix 2012 State of Cybercrime study, conducted by Info-Tech Research Group. The study surveyed U.S. business managers and IT executives within retail and financial services organizations on their level of cybersecurity planning and fraud prevention solutions.

ThreatMetrix found that while one in four retail and financial service employees participate in bring-your-own-device (BYOD), 15% of companies have no policy in place. As the BYOD trend replaces strictly controlled corporate-issued devices with a wide variety of consumer-owned devices, this poses a huge security risk to organizations and its customers. Without a layered approach to cybersecurity, employees' personal devices can unwittingly expose corporate documents to fraud and malware.

"While BYOD often enables a more efficient and productive workplace, businesses cannot ignore the additional risk of unknown devices connecting to corporate networks," said Andreas Baumhof, chief technology officer, ThreatMetrix. "As BYOD becomes commonplace across industries, a layered security approach, including device identification and malware protection is crucial to protect corporate and customer data."

For companies that allow personal devices, most surveyed permit employee access to email (70%) and websites (53%), while few allow access to more sensitive data such as file servers (16%) financial records (13%). Even so, if a cybercriminal gains access to employee email, this can expose corporate information and cause significant damage through account takeover, infected URLs and other malware threats.

According to the study, personal devices are not the only devices placing retail and financial service organizations at risk. Of companies surveyed, 31% allow employees to access work devices for personal use and barely half of organizations limit the personal activities that employees can perform on company devices. One in four companies surveyed even allow employees to download software without approval.

"Retail and financial service organizations need preventative measures in place to protect both corporate and employee-owned devices from today's highly sophisticated cybercrime threats," continued Baumhof. "Ensuring that every device can be safely used in the workplace is a challenge for which few organizations are prepared. However, implementing robust BYOD policies and cybercrime prevention solutions can stop cybercriminals in their tracks and protect sensitive data."

For more information on this study, download the full report at http://info.threatmetrix.com/ThreatMetrix_Security_Online_Fraud_Prevention.html.

About Info-Tech Research Group

With a paid membership of over 28,000 members worldwide, Info-Tech Research Group is the global leader in providing tactical, practical information technology research and analysis. Info-Tech Research Group has a 14-year history of delivering quality research and is North America's fastest-growing, full-service IT analyst firm. For more information, visit www.infotech.com or call 1-888-670-8889.

About ThreatMetrix

ThreatMetrix is the fastest-growing provider of integrated cybercrime prevention solutions. The ThreatMetrix&trade Cybercrime Defender Platform helps companies protect customer data and secure transactions against fraud, malware, data breaches, as well as man-in-the browser (MitB) and Trojan attacks. The platform consists of advanced cybersecurity technologies, including TrustDefender&trade ID, which is cloud-based, real-time device identification, malware protection with TrustDefender&trade Cloud and TrustDefender&trade Client, as well as TrustDefender&trade Mobile for smartphone applications.

Recently named to the Wall Street Journal's "Next Big Thing" listing of the top 50 start-ups in the U.S., the company serves a rapidly growing global customer base across a variety of industries, including financial services, e-commerce, payments, social networks, government, and insurance. For more information, visit www.threatmetrix.com or call 1-408-200-5755.