Security Headaches: BYOD Users Expected To Double By 2014

As the use of personal devices in the workplace becomes more popular, IT has security issues to worry about.

According to a new report from Juniper Research, 350 million employees will be using their own devices for work by 2014. Currently, 150 million people use their own phones and tablets at the office. That means BYOD users will more than double in the enterprise in the next couple of years.

Although using your own gadgets at work might sound convenient, experts quoted in the report, "Mobile Security Strategies: Threats, Solutions & Market Forecasts 2012-2017", called it "a security nightmare." Report author Nitin Bhas called for new IT policies for users and proper device management. Risks to the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) crowd include many of the same suffered by desktop computer users, from spam to malware to phishing. BYOD workers face at least one major additional problem, though: device loss.

Another trend addressed in the report is mCommerce, the concept of using mobile phones to pay for retail items. Security experts anticipate that the mobile phone will become a prime target for criminals to hack.

Personal devices in the enterprise has taken off in Western Europe, where there are the greatest number of BYOD enthusiasts, according to the report.

Do you take your personal device to work? What security issues have you encountered? We would love to hear your stories.