How important
are apps in everyday life? More important than eating and drinking? As
important as sunlight or being with family? According to the results of A10
Networks’ Application Intelligence Report (AIR), work and personal apps are so
integral in daily life that many in the global workforce believe it is
impossible and physically uncomfortable to live without them, comparing them in
importance to basic daily nourishment like eating, breathing and socializing.
AIR takes a
unique, easy-to-understand approach to examining the human and cultural side of
technology trends – specifically, the interaction with applications and the
growing security implications that result personally and for businesses and
their IT organizations. Based on research involving more than 2,000 business
and IT professionals at companies from various industries around the world-
including India, AIR addresses the rise in use and significance of apps in our
“blended lives,” in which lines blur between how the global workforce manages
work and personal business through use of apps at home, in the office and
anywhere in between.
The research was
conducted in 10 countries, representing some of the world’s largest economies
and fastest growing populations of technology adopters: Brazil, China, France,
Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the
United States. Key findings include:
APPS -- DIGITAL
OXYGEN SUSTAINING DAILY LIFE:
· APPS AS A
BASIC HUMAN NECESSITY: Half (50%)
of all global respondents consider apps to be as or almost as important as breathing, eating and drinking.
· EVOLUTION
OF OUR
“DIGITAL” DNA: More than four out of five globally consider apps integral to
their personal lives. India
ranked second-highest (behind China) as a country that found it most difficult
to live without apps, with 97 percent of the Indians surveyed citing they could
either not live without apps - or it would be difficult to do so. In fact, access to apps was almost as
important as access to water in India. This
raises questions about how
applications have evolved to the point where “they are now part of our
DNA.”
· GIVE ME
APPS OR GIVE ME DARKNESS: The survey also found that access to apps on a
smartphone was equally as important as the ability to have access to sunlight
or outdoor exposure. In fact,
India at 68 percent, had the highest percentage of respondents who that claimed
apps to be as significant – or nearly so – as air, food, water and shelter.
· IN AN
EMERGENCY: More
respondents (45%) would grab their smartphone on the way out of their homes – if given the choice of only taking
one item – over a safe with
important documents (36%), their personal photo albums (12%), or a desktop or
laptop (7%).
· THE WEAKEST LINK –
MOBILE PHONES OR IoT DEVICES? Laptops are perceived as more vulnerable than
mobile phones,
when compared to a list that also includes IoT
devices like surveillance cameras, smart TVs and Internet-enabled cars – all of which are, to many
respondents, are
unknowingly vulnerable as well. On the mobile phone front Indians lose their mobile devices
almost twice as much as the global average thereby increasing the vulnerability
quotient.
. LEAVE YOUR HOUSE OR PHONE UNLOCKED? More participants would rather leave their house unlocked for
a whole day than leave their unlocked phone on a park bench for an hour, with 52% choosing the
former.
ATTITUDES TOWARD
APP USE AND SECURITY:
· TAKING
RISKS: Even though
they think app developers may not have security as their top concern – or have
the proficiency to build secure apps at all – people still download apps and
take their chances, as nearly
half (47%) still expect to be protected from cyber-attacks by either their
company or third-party app developers.
· APP APATHY: The survey found a growing acceptance of the inevitability of
getting hacked, as nearly one in three (29%) feel cyber-attacks “are a fact of life,” and one in five (21%) “just try not to think about it.”
· SECURITY AND
WORK APPS: Roughly one in three (32%) surveyed think about security
concerns when using personal apps. For
business apps, security is even less of a thought, as fewer than one in
five (17%) surveyed cite security as a top thought when using them.
CYBERSECURITY
BEHAVIOR AND THREATS:
· IDENTITY
THEFT – THE NEW RITE OF PASSAGE: More than one in 10 respondents (13%) say they have been a victim of identity theft. And by a wide margin, the younger the generation,
the more likely the person is to be a victim of identity theft: Nearly one in five (19%) in their 20s
reported having their identity stolen globally,
while only 2% of those
older than 50 cited the same. This finding raises questions
about how many people do not know they have been victimized.
· GETTING HACKED: One in five (20%) respondents have had their mobile device or computer
hacked. Almost one in
three under 30 (31%) has been hacked
· DIGITAL THEFT IS THE NEW REALITY: Nearly three out of five (59%) think having their mobile device hacked
and personal information stolen is
more realistic thanhaving their car broken into or their home burglarized.
· CARELESS DIGITAL BEHAVIOR: Younger generations are also more
careless with their personal devices, as
one in three (34%) under 30 years old has lost their mobile device or computer,
and one in four (24%) has had their mobile device stolen at least once.
· PASSWORDS: One in 10 (11%) said they never
change their passwords for their mobile apps, while another three out of 10
(29%) use the same password for the majority of their apps.
Neil Wu Becker, VP Marketing, A10 Networks says, “Understanding the dependency on apps in our lives raises
questions about the diligence we apply to protecting our personal information.
This is important when considering use of personal and work apps with
work-issued devices on corporate networks in the workplace. AIR’s insight into
behavioral tendencies with apps and the impact on personal and business risk is
a topic that is not addressed enough. As a security vendor, we see a need to
increase the volume on factoring in human behavior with technology Investments.
After all, the greatest security technology can be undermined by negligent
behavior, and we want to help our customers protect their solution investments,
businesses, and employees.”
