The shift to secure apps in the enterprise

As enterprises are mobilizing content and apps, they are also fortifying their cyber resiliency with accelerated activations of secure mobile apps, which grew 65 percent during the fourth quarter and 300 percent during the year, according to Good Technology.

Recent cyber attacks are illustrating the catastrophic damage that can be done at both private and public sector organizations. Examples include cyber extortion at a large Hollywood studio, the hacking of U.S. Central Command Agency’s Twitter account, network intrusion of one of the world’s largest healthcare organizations in the U.S. and a massive breach across 30 banks in over 100 countries.

With the rapid ascent of these attacks, businesses of all sizes are investing in and activating mobile apps that have been designed for security from the inside out. Topping the list of most activated apps this quarter is secure mobile browsing, which saw a 197 percent quarter-over-quarter increase and was the most activated app, increasing tenfold during 2014.

Many employees use traditional browsers on mobile devices, which can expose them to malicious code or scripts that unknowingly redirect to malicious web sites. A secure browser reduces that risk on mobile devices, where traditional anti-malware and firewall solutions are typically not in place.

Secure instant messaging also exhibited a 131 percent increase during the quarter and a 9x increase throughout the year, striking a balance for employees who are turning to instant messaging as a popular alternative over email, while enterprises look to enable more instantaneous communication without exposing sensitive data.

“One of the biggest challenges CEOs and boards are facing today is understanding how to best mitigate cyber risks,” said Christy Wyatt, chairman and CEO at Good Technology. “The end user is often the weakest link in any security model. Ensuring employees, customers and partners are using secure-based apps across mobile workflows is one critical component in building cyber resiliency across any organization.”