BYOD Security Debacle: Gen Y Is Innocent, Senior Management Guilty

Though the “always on” Generation Y usually gets pinned with the blame for bringing questionable applications into the workplace, new research reveals that senior management and the “C suite” are the real perpetrators.

Unmanaged applications bring about numerous security risks, but although past perceptions pointed to Gen Y as the cause for this headache, research by Easynet has revealed that the more experienced employees are more responsible for the surge in bring-your-own-device/applications (BYOD/A) concerns.

Senior management is not only bringing in work-related tools, but also recreation applications.

About 32 percent of the 182 European CIOs and IT directors surveyed said that video apps are brought into the workplace by C-suite executives, and these senior employees also introduced about 41 percent of the VoIP tools into the office. Meanwhile, recent graduates accounted for less than 28 percent of VoIP tools, and they were also behind C-suite executives in the introduction of collaboration tools in the workplace.

“Gen Y tend to get the blame, but the focus should no longer only be on those coming in at an early career level,” said Justin Fielder, CTO at Easynet. “It should encompass everyone in the organization, including those at board level or who have been employed within the company for years.”

Fielder added that IT and network managers cant monitor access to all the applications now available on the numerous devices crossing over the network; therefore, organizations should educate employees on the associated risks with bringing applications into the workplace.

” … There is no longer a standard way to secure a network that has multiple applications and numerous entry points,” Fielder said. “We must go back to the basics and the priority must be on education.”