Are differing demographics an enterprise security risk?

 

With the amount of information companies now choose to store digitally, enterprise security should be a top consideration. The scale of the issue cannot be underestimated. In the US, IBM maintained that there were as many as 1.5 million monitored cyber attacks in 2013.

Furthermore, statistics collated by the Ponemon Institute suggested that the tangible cost to any company that experiences a breach now stretches towards US$3.5 million. Consequently, keeping staff up-to-date with the best practices in mind when they are accessing company data is imperative.

Enterprise security and demographics

However, is that notion being challenged by different demographics?

Well, Aruba Networks has found that young people are in fact more likely to endanger mission critical business data than their older peers. This, believe it or not, is predominantly due to the fact that they’re increasingly comfortable with technology.

Taking in a sample of 11,500 employees across 23 countries, the research maintained that while young people are incredibly savvy with everything digital, their attitude towards security is far from exemplary.

A lack of best practice

The main cause of weakness is employees who choose to carry out work on their own devices, as well as share information with fellow members of the workforce. Shockingly, nearly one-fifth don’t have any form of password protection in place, while 22 per cent claim that they don’t follow the best security practices as it makes sharing easier.

This is a critical oversight that the most progressive organizations should look to address. An effective data security plan will play a role in the wider strategic management of the enterprise, with the young, according to the Aruba Networks research at least, most likely to need reeducating.

While encouraging collaboration can certainly boost productivity and help the wider workforce achieve its aims, it should not be prioritized ahead of keeping the most critical information safe.