Nearly a quarter of UK businesses detect unauthorized devices accessing corporate data at least every month, with nearly half having experienced a data breach caused by unmanaged devices during the last year alone.
In a recent survey, more than two-thirds (67%) of IT leaders told endpoint management provider Scalefusion they lack complete visibility into the work devices used across their organization.
More than half (58%) reckoned they had 'mostly visible' systems with 'a few blind spots'.
However, thanks to the shift to hybrid and remote working, 64% said they'd found previously unknown devices or applications being used for work purposes in the last year.
This is leading to frequent security incidents among affected companies, the study found. For example, of the 48% who experienced breaches from unmanaged devices, 35% said they were being attacked at least once a month.
"These findings confirm what we've been hearing from businesses across the UK and Ireland – there's a critical gap between the security challenges organisations face and their ability to address them effectively," said Sally King, Scalefusion's channel sales manager for the UK and Ireland.
"What businesses need is visibility and simplification – a unified approach that brings all endpoints under one management umbrella rather than juggling multiple disconnected systems.”
One-in-five employees don't know whether their organization authorizes the use of personal devices for work, yet 40% are doing so on a daily basis. Three-quarters said this was for easier access while 56% also highlighted flexibility.
Tool sprawl is exacerbating the problem
Notably, attempts to address security challenges may actually be making matters worse, Scalefusion warned. Nearly six-in-ten companies now use four or more different endpoint security tools, causing significant operational challenges.
More than half (53%) said that this has led to increased administrative overhead, while 35% reported a lack of interoperability between systems. Similarly, 41% said they'd seen higher costs and 37% complained of critical gaps in data visibility.
Only 7% of organizations claimed that their multi-tool approach wasn't causing them any problems at all.
There were some positive trends, however. Nearly half (43%) of companies now use endpoint management platforms for employee onboarding, and 68% of IT leaders are keen to cut hands-on time per device through the use of zero-touch deployment solutions.
"This research captures something we've been observing for a while: the tools meant to protect organizations are often the same ones creating their biggest blind spots," said King.
"IT teams are drowning in dashboards while employees quietly work around systems that slow them down."
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