Thai businesses at risk of data breaches: study

The study found that 24 per cent of respondents do not comply with their company’s IT policies or do not know them at all, increasing exposure to data breaches and business risks.
The VMware Digital Workspace Study highlights that 68 per cent of Thais use their mobile devices to check work emails. Considering the significant number of Thais who use unapproved devices, this can significantly increase an organisation’s susceptibility to hacking and cyberattacks.
“The proliferation of applications and unsecured bring your own devices [BYOD] accessing work data is making it difficult for IT departments to ensure staff are both compliant and productive. End-users who bring their own devices to work simply want to access the applications they need, on the devices they choose to carry. The survey results indicate that users will find ways to circumvent IT regulations and security policies if businesses are unable to deliver,” said Ekpawin Sukanan, country manager, Thailand, VMware.
The BYOD threat goes beyond hardware. About 84 per cent of local respondents – the highest in the Southeast Asia region – face difficulties when using work applications. The top challenges cited are “apps not syncing up perfectly across devices” (37 per cent) and “having too many passwords to remember” (31 per cent). To overcome these challenges, employees tend to use the same password across devices and applications (37 per cent), or save them as notes on mobile devices (26 per cent).
“Employees who use the same password across the board are making themselves and their organisations prone to heightened security risks. Once a criminal has obtained a password for one account, he or she can quite easily access multiple accounts and build a detailed profile of the individual,” Sukanan added. “The situation is exacerbated by the fact that 52 per cent of Thais use their mobile work device for financial transactions – and cybercriminals follow where the money is.”