More than 23,000 mobile devices issued to staff last year, a 48% increase in last five years
Transport for London (TfL) has ramped up the number of mobile tablet devices it issues to staff, nearly doubling tablet use for work in the last two years, new research has revealed.
The figures, obtained by Veracode, a leader in protecting enterprises from today’s pervasive web and mobile application threats, were released under Freedom of Information legislation (FoI), and examine TfL’s mobile device usage since 2010.
The transport provider issued 3,500 tablet devices last year, nearly twice the number supplied in 2012 (1,766). It has also increased the number of mobile phones issued to staff by nearly a third over the past five years, with laptop distribution also up 14 per cent over the same period.
Total mobile device distribution reached 23,459 last year, a 48 per cent increase from 2010, whereby 15,935 devices were issued.
Recent research by Veracode that analysed hundreds of thousands of mobile applications installed in actual corporate environments revealed a host of security issues were rampant, such as mobile applications exposing sensitive corporate and personal data including SIM card information such as phone location, call history, phone contacts, SMS message logs, device IDs and carrier information.
Chris Wysopal, co-founder, CISO and CTO at Veracode, has welcomed TfL’s commitment to mobile investment and advises any enterprise taking similar steps to put in place robust security measures to reduce the risk associated with their now significantly expanded attack surface:
“Equipping workers with the latest mobile devices will help improve commuter experience and streamline day-to-day administrative activity across London’s transport infrastructure.
“While TfL is leading the way in embracing the latest technologies, it should also ensure that rigorous security measures are put in place to reduce risk from mobile malware and unsafe applications.
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“Cybercriminals relentlessly target mobile applications to steal sensitive data and spy on mobile users. As a result, it is now becoming a best practice for organisations to implement mobile device management (MDM) systems – powered by continuously-updated security intelligence about unsafe and malicious mobile apps – to enforce security and privacy policies on their employee’s devices in order to keep cyberattackers out.”
About Veracode
Veracode is a leader in securing web, mobile and third-party applications for the world’s largest global enterprises. By enabling organizations to rapidly identify and remediate application-layer threats before cyberattackers can exploit them, Veracode helps enterprises speed their innovations to market – without compromising security.Veracode’s powerful cloud-based platform, deep security expertise and systematic, policy-based approach provide enterprises with a simpler and more scalable way to reduce application-layer risk across their global software infrastructures.Veracode serves hundreds of customers across a wide range of industries, including nearly one-third of the Fortune 100, three of the top four U.S. commercial banks and more than 20 of Forbes’ 100 Most Valuable Brands. For more information visit here www.veracode.com
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