Having students use their own electronic devices for schoolwork is
one of the newest trends in education as administrators work to bridge the
technology gap in their classrooms. However, a study from Cisco found those students are also at high
risk for security issues, according to an article at ITPortal.com.
The networking firm reported in its 2013 Annual Security Report that
online shopping sites are 21 times more likely and search engines are 27 times
more likely to release malware on personal computers or mobile devices than
pornography or gambling sites. The riskiest sites for malware are online advertisements,
which are 182 times more likely to spread a virus.
In addition, the Cisco Connected World Technology Report suggested
that Generation Y respondents don’t really care. It found that 91% of
Generation Y employees said the age of privacy is over and a third claim not to
be worried about data about them available online.
“Unfortunately, what the security studies show is the next-generation
workforce’s lifestyles are also introducing security challenges that companies
have never had to address to this scale,” Cisco said in a release.
The report found that more than 33% of all infections from global
malware occur in the United States, while cases of Android malware rose 2,577% in
2012. The good news is the threat to mobile malware was just 0.5% of the total.
“Today, we live a blended work-personal life,” said John Stewart,
senior vice president of Cisco global government and corporate security. “The
hackers know this, and the security threats that we encounter online, such as
embedded web malware while visiting popular destinations like search engines,
retailers, social media sites, and smartphone/tablet apps, no longer threaten
only the individual; they threaten our organizations by default.”
