This damning set of statistics comes from Check Point, which found that there is an increasing trend towards what is commonly called 'consumerisation' of IT in most businesses.
The firm says its research shows that as organisations continue to grow in size, IT administrators are increasingly challenged with securing mobile data and complex IT environments, citing data loss, user management, lost or stolen equipment, and employees connecting to untrusted wireless Internet access as top concerns.
In its survey of more than 220 IT security professionals, Check Point says that a majority of businesses were found to be potentially vulnerable to unauthorised network access from lost or stolen devices.
Perhaps as a result of the move to a more mobile workforce, the survey found 52% of organisations reporting they have VPN clients on their portable PCs and intend to deploy disk encryption (23%), encrypted USBs (20%) and data leak protection (17%) in the coming year.
Commenting on the survey, Nick Lowe, Check Point's head of Western European sales, said that is becoming more complex for firms looking to widen the number of devices that can log onto the network and still remain secure.
Data is becoming incredibly mobile and the consumerisation of the device means that questions have to be asked – by the company – about who has assumed responsibility for the security of the device, he said.
Bob Tarzey, director and principal analyst at Quocirca, meanwhile, said that companies need to take a more mature attitude towards the introduction of portable devices such as iPhones, iPads and Google Android devices into the workplace.
People will use personal devices whether or not you ban them, he said, adding that if you try to control what people do then they are more likely to use personal devices in a work environment.
Mike Welbrook, head of data marketing with Orange Europe, the cellular carrier, said that the security solutions in the marketplace are fragmented and complex, which means that individual vendors do not have the tools for resellers to bring together.