Verizon Mobile Security Index

The shift to remote work sees a major rise in cybercrime

What you need to know:

• Major attacks are on the rise—45% of companies surveyed suffered a compromise in the past 12 months, up 22% year over year
• Seventy-nine percent (79%) of respondents agreed that recent changes to working practices have adversely affected their organization’s cybersecurity
• Fifty-two percent (52%) of respondents said they have previously sacrificed the security of mobile devices, including IoT devices, to ‘get the job done’ (e.g., meet a deadline or hit productivity targets)
• Eighty-five percent (85%) of companies surveyed have budget dedicated to mobile security

NEW YORK, Aug. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The traditional 9-to-5 in-office workday has shifted to an always-on hybrid or remote working world. With the increase in hours, locations and devices comes an increase in vulnerability for companies protecting themselves from cyberattacks. The Verizon Mobile Security Index (MSI) 2022 reveals that there is a continued rise in major cyberattacks in the last year involving a mobile/IoT device, up 22% year-over-year, that resulted in data or system downtime. With 85% of companies surveyed stating that they now have a budget dedicated to mobile security, there has never been a more pressing need to apply those funds to cyberthreat mitigation.

“For businesses–regardless of industry, size, or location on a map–downtime is money lost. Compromised data is trust lost, and those moments, although not insurmountable, are tough to rebound from,” said Sampath Sowmyanarayan, CEO, Verizon Business. “Companies need to dedicate time and budget on their security architecture, especially when it comes to off-premise devices: otherwise they are leaving themselves vulnerable to cyber-threat actors.”

Security teams face an uphill battle as the number of devices and remote workers increase, so much so that 79% of respondents agreed that the recent changes to working practices have adversely affected their organizations' cybersecurity. With the increased threat, it would seem that companies would double down on their policies. However, the findings point to the opposite, with 85% saying home Wi-Fi and cellular networks/hotspots are allowed or there is no policy against them, and 68% allow or have no policy against the use of public Wi-Fi.