Fortinet’s Internet Security Census 2013 found that up to 51 per cent of respondents (aged 21 to 32 years) admitted they would contravene company policies restricting use of own devices, cloud storage and wearable technologies for work. The research showed a 42 per cent increase in the willingness to break usage rules compared to a similar survey conducted in 2012. The findings clearly demonstrate Generation Y workers’ hardening stance against corporate BYOD and Bring-Your-Own-Cloud policies. 

The Fortinet Internet Security Census 2013, undertaken in October 2013, surveyed 3,200 university graduate level individuals aged 21 to 32 and in full time employment, who own their own smartphone, tablet or laptop. The scope of the survey covers Generation Y’s stance and attitudes on corporate policies regarding BYOD, cloud applications and emerging technologies that are entering the workplace. The research also surveyed the extent to which respondents within this group have been victims of cybercrime on their own devices, and their “threat literacy”. The report also shows the widespread practice among Generation Y employees for storing corporate assets on personal cloud accounts. These trends and tendencies therefore are important for companies to understand as they put together their IT strategy and employee productivity policies. Take a look at some key findings from the report: 

Strong view that BYOD empowers workers: The survey revealed that 45 per cent of participants found that use of personal devices empowers them in their work. This reflected a positive upward trend for BYOD as compared to the 2012 survey where only 26 per cent believed it improved effectiveness. 

Widespread use of personal cloud accounts for sensitive corporate data: 70 per cent of Generation Y employees have used their  personal cloud accounts for work purposes. The rate of usage goes hand-in-hand with a high level of faith in the personal cloud, with 32 per cent stating they “trusted it fully”.

India has the highest penetration (76 per cent) of BYOD policies and a high level of authorisation (42 per cent) for use of personal devices.

Wearable technology set to enter the workplace: 50 per cent of participants agreed that they would use wearable technology in their workspace when available, or affordable, or had appropriate apps.

BYOD attacks really do happen:  There are high instances of sample respondents being victims of cybercrime, and suffering tangible damage. The proportion losing corporate data as a consequence of having their smartphones attacked, or experiencing loss of productivity from attacks on their tablet devices, are of particular concern.

Threat literacy remains an issue:  There is scope for respondents to become more educated about IT threats, and better equipped to mitigate them. Around 20-25 per cent of the sample was able to consistently demonstrate familiarity with the most advanced threats such as APTs and DDoS. However, at the other end of the spectrum a worrying minority claimed never to have heard of terms like cybercrime (11 per cent).

There are interesting regional variations when it comes to some of these factors. India has the highest penetration (76 per cent) of BYOD policies and a high level of authorisation (42 per cent) for use of personal devices, whereas South Korean participants reported the lowest level of BYOD at their workplace.  Participants in India were also found to have the highest usage of personal accounts for storing financial information (31 per cent). For Indian companies, the findings clearly show a robust need to educate employees on “threat literacy” as they enthusiastically use their devices for critical information.