Nine out of 10 large businesses are not keeping track of information on mobile devices such as laptops and BlackBerrys, according to the latest research.

Companies could be breaching information management and data protection regulations, as well as risking the bad publicity from a security breach.

Six per cent of respondents admitted leaks of sensitive company files, and increasingly powerful technology is inflating the problem at a rapid rate, said Ian Parkes, director of analyst Coleman Parkes, which conducted the survey.

‘The smaller and more powerful the device, the greater the risk,’ said Parkes.
‘As more information travels further and further from the business network, on devices that are more easily lost, the problem will increase.’

Tracking information is not simple. Links with human resources systems enable firms to monitor which employee has which device with relative ease.

But managing the information is more difficult, said Parkes. And as devices become more productive, ever more complex systems are required to keep track of the increasing quantities of data flowing through them.

Firms facing security problems from laptop thefts are already under scrutiny. In February Nationwide was fined £980,000 after the loss of nearly 11 million customers’ details.

And in May, Marks & Spencer confirmed that a laptop containing the personal details of 26,000 employees was stolen.

Measures to ensure files on mobile devices cannot be accessed by unauthorised personnel should be standard business practice, said Alliance and Leicester chief information security officer George Hazell.

‘Why create a situation where data can be captured from mobile devices? We are very careful to ensure that even if a device is lost the information cannot be accessed,’ he said.

Coleman Parkes undertook the research on behalf of mobile device vendor Mformation.