Whistleblower Engineers Shock in New Survey

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 09, 2011

Mocana, a company that focuses on smart device security, today reported the results of its Summer 2011 Device Security Survey. Nearly 800 device software and hardware engineers were surveyed, and the findings reveal a surprising lack of corporate support for device engineers that want to make security improvements to smartphones and other connected devices. Only 39% of engineers responded that they have good access to embedded security expertise when they need it, and more disturbingly nearly 25% said they personally knew about security problems in their device products that haven’t been disclosed to the general public.

The Mocana Summer 2011 Device Security Report is available here: http://www.mocana.com/summer11/

Related infographics are available here: http://www.mocana.com/summer11/infographics/

Security for Devices From the Perspective of the Engineers That Design Them

Smart devices have experienced tremendous growth in recent years as new technology advancements have made it possible for people and things to be connected to each other virtually everywhere. Unfortunately, investment in security hasnt kept up with that in the devices themselves; consequently, many are unprotected against even the most basic threats.

It took years to develop and implement reasonable security practices for PCs, and even those measures arent perfect. Connected devices now outnumber PCs by at least five to one, and adequate time and money has not been spent to make sure they are secure, said Adrian Turner, CEO, Mocana. The growth of connected devices shows no sign of abating, and as they begin to take on more of societys critical functions, it is chilling to hear that so many manufacturers are hiding known security problems in their devices. We expected 1 or 2 percent of engineers to report that their company is hiding security problems in devices they sell. But not 25%. Frankly, thats shocking.

Contradictions Abound

Despite the fact that nearly a quarter of all engineers surveyed admitted that they knew of problems in devices, most surveyed insisted that devices wont actually ship with known security problems: 64% agreed with the statement When engineers call attention to potential security problems in the devices we design, those problems are addressed before the device is released. Likewise, most engineers disagreed with the notion that their company has skimped on security solely to save money. But apparently those engineers werent among the 25% that reported knowing about undisclosed security holes in devices already on the market.

But these same engineers seem to feel that their management could, and should, be doing much more to help them make these devices safer: only 41% of those surveyed agreed with the statement our company has allocated sufficient time and money to secure our device products against hacks and attacks.

Survey details

UBM, publisher of EETimes and host of the Embedded Systems Conferences around the world partnered with Mocana to distribute this survey in July 2011 to over 100,000 engineers and developers that work in the embedded devices field. The survey collected over 800 completed responses from technical leaders representing virtually every type of Internet-connected non-PC device, including smartphones, tablets, industrial automation, medical devices, military, automotive, aviation, gaming and home appliances, to name but a few.

The full Summer 2011 Device Security Report, which provides greater detail on the trends in connected device security noted above, is available here: http://www.mocana.com/summer11/

About Mocana

Mocana is developing the industry’s only device-independent Smart Device Security platform that secures all aspects of IP addressable devices as well as the information, applications and services that run on them. Mocana’s solutions dramatically increase confidence, trust and compliance among OEMs, service providers and their customers. Every day, millions of people use products sold by over 150 companies that leverage Mocana’s Device Security solutions, including Cisco, Honeywell, Dell, General Electric, General Dynamics, Avaya and Harris, among others. Mocana recently won Frost & Sullivan’s Technology Innovation of the Year award for Device Security, and was named to the Red Herring Global 100 as one of the “top 100 privately-held technology companies in the world”.

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About The Author

Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough research and presenting information in a structured and logical format.

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