Mobile devices pose serious risk to enterprises

MUMBAI, INDIA: Global IT association ISACA has released the second annual IT Risk/Reward Barometer survey, which has uncovered several surprising results regarding how risks from mobile devices are perceived and the usage of cloud computing in India.

More than 90 percent of Indian IT leaders believe that mobile devices, whether employer-provided or personal, pose a risk to enterprises.

More than 50 percent say that their enterprises have put policies and systems in place to mitigate the risk of mobile devices use.

The survey also shows that 56 percent of respondents say that their enterprises do not allow installation of applications on mobile devices used for work activities.

Sandeep Godbole, member of the ISACA India Task Force, said, "Mobile devices are posing tough questions to organizations, not only about technology, but also related to intent and strategy. The results indicate a fair level of awareness about technology risk and risk management."

He added, "At the same time, Indian enterprises seem to be a bit slow in adopting new technologies and practices that promise significant benefits. Risk reduction is important; however, equally important is the ability to generate value."

Information security and risk jobs on the rise

In the Indian IT industry, a high percentage (65 percent) of respondents expects their enterprises' staffing requirements for information security to increase over the next year. Similarly, 66 percent expect risk management staffing requirements to go up.

Niraj Kapasi, CISA, chair of the ISACA India Task Force, said, "The government of India has just released additional regulations on privacy and the role of intermediaries, increasing the demand for security and risk professionals."

Slow acceptance of cloud computing in India

According to the IT Risk/Reward Barometer, 36 percent of enterprises in India have adopted cloud computing, with 11 percent using it for mission-critical services. Drivers for implementing cloud were reported to be cost optimizations and availability, centralized operations, and cost reductions.

The major concerns in deploying cloud computing, according to Indian IT leaders whose organizations do not use it, are security and privacy concerns and the discrepancies in the type of data/service.