Nearly two of every five enterprises are at risk of exposing sensitive data on wireless devices, and ineffective wireless policies and protocols could be to blame according to the latest research from AOTMP. The findings are surprising given the recent study also shows almost 90 percent of enterprises view security as extremely or very important to wireless mobility management.

The report, “Securing Your Mobile Environment,” said as the number of mobile employees, smart devices and applications increases, protecting sensitive data on these devices becomes more challenging. AOTMP’s report examined wireless device security from key benchmark data points representing more than 190 enterprise telecom professionals across 23 different industries.

“As the sophistication of today’s wireless devices become more complex, security must become a priority for the enterprise,” said Timothy C. Colwell, vice president of knowledge operations at AOTMP. “While a reactive approach to security management could have severe consequences, proactive security measures – such as user authentication and remote kills – are important steps to address security within the wireless environment.”

The report outlines five key best practices for creating or improving wireless security policies:

An important measure is to clearly define and communicate expectations and protocols around lost or stolen devices to decrease the risk of exposing sensitive information. “Without these types of measures in place, data could potentially be viewed by or sent to a wide array of unintended recipients,” said Scott Lawrence, director of research at AOTMP.