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Gartner Identifies Tablets Are ‘Sweet Spot’ of BYOD Programs

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By 2018, Gartner predicts twice as many employee-owned devices used for work than enterprise-owned devices.

In other words, tablet bring-your-own device (BYOD) programs offer better opportunities than that of enterprise owned-laptops and smartphones, according to Gartner, Inc. IT departments can support nearly three times more users in tablet BYO programs than enterprise-owned tablet programs.

“IT leaders can spend half a million dollars to buy and support 1,000 enterprise-owned tablets, while they can support 2,745 user-owned tablets with that same budget,” said Federica Troni, research director at Gartner. “Without a stipend, direct costs of user-owned tablets are 64 percent lower. When organizations have several users who want a tablet as a device of convenience, offering a BYOD option is the best alternative to limit cost and broaden access.”

Gartner analysts discussed the economics of BYOD during the annual Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which ended recently.

BYO smartphone programs have a total cost of ownership that is very similar to those of enterprise-owned smartphones, and will only deliver savings when the organization is in a position to pay partial, or do not reimburse or subsidize for voice and data plans.

This typically reflects a situation where users are not fully entitled to a corporate smartphone but occasionally need one, or want to use one for convenience.

Through 2017, Gartner said that 90 percent of organizations will support some aspect of BYOD. These programs have today different degrees of maturity, but Gartner predicts that by 2018 there will be twice as many employee-owned devices used for work than enterprise-owned devices.

In the design of BYOD programs, organizations need to ensure that they target users who have interest and propensity to use a wider choice of devices for work and feel relatively at easy with technology.

The organization must also select a primary goal – user satisfaction, cost reduction or mobile expansion. In most cases, multiple goals will be unachievable or will conflict with each other.

“While BYO initiatives for mobile devices can lead to cost savings, it is not always the case,” said Ms. Troni. “Organizations that are looking to broaden device choices or expand access to mobile technology may spend the same or more under BYOD for organization-owned devices.”

Organizations doing BYOD are very likely to see their infrastructure investments increase, and the level of investment is directly proportional to the success and uptake rate of their programs.

A recent Gartner survey conducted in the first quarter of 2014 amongst 135 IT/business leaders who actively encourage BYOD, found that mobile device management (87 percent), general infrastructure expansion (84 percent) and file share and sync (80 percent) were the three major technologies that drove investments in support of BYO initiatives.

BYO programs also act as catalysts for technologies such as desktop virtualization, and isolation, as organizations attempt to establish an acceptable level of security and manageability in delivering corporate applications, and data to employee-owned devices.

Establishing the right support structure for BYOD programs is crucial in containing cost for BYOD and taking advantage of the potential cost savings. Organizations allowing users to bring their own devices to work will have to redefine the boundaries of IT’s responsibility for end-point devices support. Users will also have to accept responsibility for handling a higher number of support issues related with their own device.

Another cause for the increased costs in BYOD programs compared to corporate devices is due to the difficulty in managing voice and data costs, and setting the appropriate level of reimbursement.

“A balanced mix of enterprise-owned and user-owned devices with different levels of stipends will be the most effective way of capitalizing the benefits of BYOD programs, both in terms of cost reduction and in terms of level of access to mobile technology,” said Ms. Troni.


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E-Business

NDPC Raises Alarm on Chrome Vulnerabilities, Urges Nigerians to Secure Devices

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Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued an urgent security advisory, warning Nigerians of critical vulnerabilities in Google Chrome that could expose users to severe cyber threats.

NDPC Raises Alarm on Chrome Vulnerabilities, Urges Nigerians to Secure Devices

The alert, posted on the Commission’s official X handle, underscores the risks of these flaws and calls for immediate action to safeguard personal devices and data.

According to the NDPC, the vulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a user’s system, potentially granting unauthorised access to computers.

This could enable cybercriminals to install malicious programs, view, alter, or delete sensitive data, and even create new user accounts with full administrative rights.

Such breaches could disrupt device functionality, compromise personal information, and lead to significant loss of control over affected systems.

“Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Chrome. The most severe of these could allow an attacker to take over a user’s system,” the NDPC stated, emphasising the urgency of addressing the issue.

To mitigate these risks, the Commission has advised Chrome users to apply the latest browser updates immediately.

It also recommends operating devices with standard user rights instead of administrative privileges to limit potential damage. Additionally, the NDPC urged Nigerians to exercise caution by avoiding suspicious links, unsolicited attachments, and untrusted websites.

The advisory comes as part of Nigeria’s broader efforts to strengthen data protection.

 


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Microsoft Seizes 340 Websites Linked to Nigerian-based Phishing Subscription Service

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Microsoft said on Tuesday that it seized nearly 340 websites tied to a rapidly growing Nigerian-based service that allowed users to carry out phishing operations that stole at least 5,000 Microsoft user credentials.

Microsoft obtained an order from the U.S. District Court in Manhattan earlier this month to seize domains associated with Raccoon0365, the subscription service that allowed users to carry out massive phishing campaigns, which sometimes involved thousands of emails at a time, according to Steven Masada, assistant general counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.

Raccoon0365’s service, which operates through a private Telegram channel with more than 850 subscribers, enables users to impersonate trusted brands and get targets to enter Microsoft login credentials on phony Microsoft login pages, Masada said in a blog posted on Microsoft’s website.

The service has generated for its small group of operators at least $100,000 in cryptocurrency payments since launching in July 2024, Masada said in the blog. Microsoft said the seizure of the websites occurred over a period of days earlier this month.

Microsoft identified Nigeria-based Joshua Ogundipe as the leader and main operator of Raccoon0365.

Ogundipe did not immediately respond to an email request for comment sent to the email address identified by Microsoft in its court filing.

“Cybercriminals don’t need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm,” Masada said. “Simple tools like Raccoon0365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk.”

Raccoon0365 subscribers have targeted a wide swath of industries, Masada said, and separate court filings allege that “a significant portion” of Raccoon0365 activity targets organizations based in New York City.

Masada said Microsoft identified what it said was a Raccoon0365-related effort using tax-themed phishing emails to target more than 2,300 organizations, mostly in the U.S., between February 12 and February 28 this year, according to a company blog posted in April.

Errol Weiss, chief security officer of the Health Information Sharing & Analysis Center (Health-ISAC), which provides cybersecurity services to member health organizations and is a co-plaintiff alongside Microsoft, said Raccoon0365 has been linked to successful credential harvesting through phishing campaigns at at least five unnamed healthcare organizations, while targeting 25 health sector organizations overall. Once hackers gain that access, any number of things can happen, Weiss said.

“So many of the attacks start because somebody gave up their user name and password to a bad guy,” Weiss said in an interview. “Once that cybercriminal has access to the network, then it’s just up to the imagination in terms of what comes next and how they monetize it.”

The Raccoon0365 operators used services provided by Cloudflare to help hide the service’s backend infrastructure, the internet services firm said in its own blog post. Cloudflare worked with Microsoft and the U.S. Secret Service to disrupt Raccoon0365 operations on its platform and prevent the operators from establishing new accounts, the company said.

Blake Darché, the head of threat intelligence at Cloudflare, said in an interview that the Raccoon0365 operators made some key operational security mistakes but were highly effective.

“They’re in people’s accounts, they compromise lots of people, and it needs to obviously be stopped,” he said.

 


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How to Access Business Information Securely

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A recent Kaspersky survey entitled “Cybersecurity in the workplace: Employee knowledge and behaviour”, showed that professionals surveyed in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, use multiple devices for work: along with a computer, 54,8% of respondents also use a mobile phone, and 34,7% use a tablet as well.

At the same time only 71% of respondents acknowledged having cybersecurity protection solutions installed on all devices that they use to access business information, and 6,6% of those surveyed don’t know if their devices are protected or not.

In today’s interconnected digital landscape, securing all devices used to access business data is essential to protect sensitive information and maintain operational integrity.

Devices that lack essential protection can be exploited by cyber attackers to gain unauthorised access, steal data, deploy ransomware, or disrupt business operations.

Within the past 12 months, 39,5% of respondents in the META region admitted to using their work devices for personal purposes (watching movies/ YouTube, playing games, shopping, holiday bookings, etc.), 32,2% connected work devices to public Wi-Fi networks, 9,8% lost their devices and 9,7% had their devices stolen.

These figures underline the need for a cyber hygiene mindset and security solutions for all endpoints, as each of them present cybersecurity risks to a business.

Personal use of work devices can lead to the installation of unauthorised apps or exposure to malicious websites, increasing the chance of malware infections or data leaks. Connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, which are often unencrypted and poorly secured, can allow cybercriminals to intercept sensitive business data or inject harmful software, so it should be secured with a VPN.

Additionally, if a device is lost or stolen and lacks proper security controls – like strong passwords, encryption, or remote wipe capabilities – critical business information could fall into the wrong hands.

“With the increasing reliance on cloud services, remote work, and mobile access, businesses need to implement comprehensive security measures. Cyber hygiene – or simply said good IT habits, security policies and the use of robust security solutions are essential practices for protecting business systems.

Security solutions should include endpoint protection for every device that accesses business information. Multi-factor authentication, regular software updates and backups are must haves now,” says Brandon Muller, Technical Expert for the MEA region at Kaspersky.


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