Lax security stalling adoption of wireless computing

Security concerns are the biggest obstacle to widespread adoption of wireless and remote computing in business, according to a survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit, on behalf of security solutions supplier Symantec. The survey, which includes responses from more than 240 global company executives, indicates more than 60 percent of companies are holding back on wireless deployments, citing security concerns.

The research also highlights serious weaknesses in companies' present security arrangements for mobile devices. While 82 percent of businesses worldwide see the damage from virus attacks as the same or greater on a mobile network than on a fixed network, only 26 percent have actually assessed security risks of smart phones, compared with 81 percent of enterprises conducting security assessments for laptops.