Fear over camera phones posing security risks
Fear over camera phones posing security risks
Gartner has reported that enterprises are growing worried that the use of camera phones and other consumer technologies can impose on the privacy of employees and increase the threat of important information being stolen, so they are trying to ban them from being taken to work.
Although Gartner acknowledges that this risk is realistic, it does not think an outright ban in necessary.
It is predicted that 80 percent of mobile phones shipped to the U.S. and Western Europe will have built in cameras by 2006, which means that security programs might have to be arranged to manage any potential risks.
Ken Dulaney, research vice president at Gartner said. "Most organisations simply don't have the staff or money to mount effective inspections. Instead, businesses should designate secure zones where restrictions on these devices are tight and can be enforced. For other workplace areas, staff should be given guidelines about what is acceptable.
Carolina Milanesi, analyst for Gartner added. "Usage guidelines will be far more effective than outright bans because it's not just the phones' cameras that could pose a security risk. For example, many phones can also record voices. Therefore, it's hard to decide where to draw a firm line about what can and can't be used at work."
Gartner also fears that there is going to be a new wave of technology that will increase the risk of security for businesses. For instance, there are Universal Serial Bus 'key ring' drives which will be fitted with cameras soon that can connect to almost any recent PC and extract large amounts of data off the premises.
In addition, new DVD burners could also cause the risk of important information being taken away from enterprises.
Gartner has recommended that businesses should foster an internal culture that discourages the abuse of new developing consumer technologies inside the work place.
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