C-suite employees most vulnerable to cyber attacks

Many executives want to be excepted from security protocols

C-suite executives are most likely to ask for relaxed mobile security protocols, new research published by MobileIron has found shows. 

Over three-quarters (76 percent) of such executives admitted to having requested a waiver on enterprise security protocols last year, the company's study revealed, despite these workers being the most vulnerable within their organisation to fall to security scams. 

According to MobileIron, CxOs get frustrated with the prevalent security protocols, and often seek to circumvent the same. Over two-thirds of respondents feel that these protocols infringe on their personal privacy; 62 percent blame security for limited device usability, while 58 percent find the security protocols to be too complex.

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Security threat

As per the report, 78 per cent of IT decision-makers believe that this very group is most likely to be the victim of phishing attacks, while 71 per cent said that they are also most likely to fall for such attacks.

“These findings are concerning because all of these C-suite exemptions drastically increase the risk of a data breach,” said Brian Foster, SVP Product Management, MobileIron. 

Modern enterprises need to establish a “dynamic security foundation” that facilitates “easy-to-use” mobile security, Foster stressed. Such security solutions should also make sure that all employees, spanning various roles, can “maintain maximum productivity without interference, and without feeling that their own personal privacy is being compromised”, he added.

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