Use of personal gadgets for work raises security headaches

Timur Emek/AP

Juniper Networks says 41 percent of people use personal devices for business without company permission.

The growing use of personal gadgets for work is creating new security headaches for IT administrators responsible for protecting networks and company data, according to a Juniper Networks survey of 4,000 people.

Forty-one percent of respondents use their own phones, tablets and computers for business without permission from their employers, according to the poll. This raises concerns that employees could introduce malware into company systems or that data breaches could occur if personal devices were lost or stolen.

The network gear maker’s survey comes as the Defense Information Systems Agency is considering a bring-your-own-device mobile strategy for military users on unclassified networks, NextGov’s Bob Brewin reported May 9.

BYOB schemes have been ruled out at the U.K. Ministry of Defense based on security concerns, Computer Weekly reported April.

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