The biggest security threat for organizations today could literally be in the palm of your hand, according to Verizon Business’ Verizon 2025 Mobile Security Index (MSI).
"This year's Mobile Security Index is a clear wake-up call: mobile security is no longer a perimeter defense, but a battle fought in the palm of every employee’s hand. We talk about the perfect storm: with the rise of AI, we’re witnessing a Category 5 hurricane in mobile security, where AI is the wind and human error is the open window,” says Chris Novak, VP, global cybersecurity solution, Verizon Business. “The rapid adoption of gen AI is a game-changer, and businesses of all sizes must rethink security measures aimed at AI-assisted attacks and support employees in leveraging technology securely."
Key takeaways:
· 85% of organizations report increasing mobile attacks, with 75% increasing mobile security spending over the last year. However, the rise of employees utilizing GenAI for work is quickly expanding the attack surface: 34% of organizations fear that more sophisticated and large-scale AI-powered attacks will significantly increase their risk, and 38% believe ransomware will become even more dangerous when powered by AI.
· Only 17% of businesses have specific security controls against AI-assisted attacks.
· Nearly all organizations (93%) report that their employees are using GenAI on their mobiles in their daily work and more than half of organizations (64%) see data compromise through GenAI as their top mobile risk.
· Of the 80% of organizations who conducted employee smishing tests, 39% found that up to half their employees clicked on a malicious link.
· 57% of SMBs agree they are at a disadvantage in terms of resources, making it harder to respond to cybersecurity attacks than larger enterprises. And 54% of SMBs say they have more to lose from a security breach.
· Larger enterprises train more employees on mobile security (66% vs. only 56% of SMBs); provide more comprehensive AI risk training (50% vs. only 39% of SMBs); and implement more advanced multifactor authentication (57% vs. 45% of SMBs).
· 63% of respondents experienced major problems due to downtime, a significant increase since last year, and 50% suffered data loss, the No. 1 feared outcome.
