Jeff Crume is an IBM Distinguished Engineer, Master Inventor and author of "Inside Internet Security: What Hackers Don't Want You To Know."
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent IBM.
BYOD or "Bring Your Own Device" is like a runaway train barreling down the tracks. If you're the IT Dept you can either jump on board where at least you have a chance to determine which track it rides on or stand in front of the train, hands outstretched yelling "stop!" As you might guess, in that latter scenario, the train always wins.
But that doesn't mean you just give up and let anyone bring any device they want into the corporate network where sensitive data is kept. The threat these handy gizmos pose is real but so is their value to the organization so you have to recognize both aspects and do what you can to mitigate the risks.
There are no risk free options here but learning to say "how" rather than "no" at least ensures that you remain part of the conversation.
Better still, a similar number expect to have more budget to devote to security over the next 2 years.
More than half say that mobile security is their greatest near-term technology concern.
The real value of a report like this, in my opinion, is not so much for the IT security community. They probably already know this. The best thing this sort of information can do is provide an additional, independent proof point to the leadership withink your organization to step up and take similar action where it is needed.
You can read the full report at www.ibm.com/smarter/cai/security.
Here's an interview I did earlier this week at the IBM Impact Conference in Las Vegas with developerWorks Managing Editor, Tom Young, on the subject of mobile device security.