In a mobile-centric world, security should be everyone’s concern. Literally, every action that we do on our smartphones leaves us exposed to danger from the bad guys. The figures are staggering: according to Cisco, more than 50% of malware can affect mobile devices and around 80% of data leakage is due to lost or stolen phones.
One must admit that while smartphones have tremendously changed our way of doing business and our personal lives, they only complicate matters when it comes down to enterprise security. It cannot be denied anymore – at least by a sane person – that a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a necessity in this day and age. A private network provides an efficient approach in securing corporate against all sorts of threats such as business data leaks, network attacks, and incoming connections from hackers. As a matter of fact, a quality VPN is able to accomplish the task of guarding your phone with ease.
The Statistics Behind It
Surprisingly or not, but even though mobile devices have been existing now for over two decades already, security woes only began cropping up now. In 2004 for instance – as per reports from WhiteHat Security – it was found that 5% of websites were malware carriers, which rose to almost 20% by 2011 and then reached a whopping 30% in 2014. The numbers have continued going up since then and Gartner forecasts that by 2017 there might be more than one million pieces of new mobile malware released into public each day.
The challenges and dangers of mobile security become more apparent if we take a look at the location of these threats. While in 2016 – as per WhiteHat’s figures – malicious content existed mainly on websites (60%) and the rest came from applications (30%), it has been estimated that by 2020, around 30% of attacks can come from applications, while 70% will be web-based.
Still not convinced? Just think about this for a second:
Up to now, there is no definite figure on how many smartphones are currently active with users utilizing them constantly. But what we know for sure is that by 2020 there can be more than 6 billion smartphones in use worldwide. If you consider that everything you do use on your mobile device can be spied upon and hacked by cybercriminals, you will understand why your company needs a mobile security solution such as a VPN.
A Case For Using VPN on Mobile Devices
Wondering what does vpn do for you? The fact that mobile devices are more exposed than ever before to various kinds of mobile threats such as malware, phishing, ransomware and data leakage is just one of the reasons for investing in mobile security solutions. What makes using a VPN even more important is its ability to protect business data on the move. A recent survey revealed some interesting facts: 48% of companies state lack of endpoint protection and a high number of vulnerabilities (25%) as their biggest security challenges, while 22% blame BYOD programs for increased risks on the company’s network. With all these concerns at the helm, using a VPN for mobile devices becomes essential.
A VPN can prevent your company’s data from falling into wrong hands and ensure the continuity of business even when you are working on the go with your smartphone or tablet. Data is transmitted through a secure tunnel between your device and the organization network, where it is then decrypted before reaching its final destination. This means that all data that passes through this secure tunnel – such as authentication credentials, credit card details, remote desktop sessions, etc. – cannot be intercepted by cybercriminals. At the end of the day, using a VPN on your mobile device makes sure that all communications stay under control and only legitimate users have access to them.