News
3 min read
Cisco’s Duo Security Report Shows Shift to Remote Work is Accelerating Digital Adoption
10 Nov, 2020

News Summary:
- Analysis of millions of corporate users, devices and applications details security consequences of massive change in how we work
- Influx of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) causes 90% spike in out-of-date devices attempting to access business apps
- Cloud adoption to surpass use of on-premises applications by 2021
- So Long, SMS - The prevalence of SIM-swapping attacks has driven organizations to strengthen their authentication schemes. Year-over-year, the percentage of organizations that enforce a policy to disallow SMS authentication nearly doubled from 8.7% to 16.1%.
- Biometrics Booming - Biometrics are nearly ubiquitous across enterprise users, paving the way for a passwordless future. Eighty percent of mobile devices used for work have biometrics configured, up 12% the past five year.
- Cloud Apps on Pace to Pass On-Premises Apps - Use of cloud apps are on pace to surpass use of on-premises apps by next year, accelerated by the shift to remote work. Cloud applications make up 13.2% of total Duo authentications, a 5.4% increase year-over-year, while on-premises applications encompass 18.5% of total authentications, down 1.5% since last year.
- Apple Devices 3.5 times More Likely to Update Quickly vs. Android - Ecosystem differences have security consequences. On June 1, Apple iOS and Android both issued software updates to patch critical vulnerabilities in their respective operating systems. iOS devices were 3.5 times more likely to be updated within 30 days of a security update or patch, compared to Android.
- Windows 7 Lingers in Healthcare Despite Security Risks - More than 30% of Windows devices in healthcare organizations still run Windows 7, despite end-of-life status, compared with 10% of organizations across Duo’s customer base. Healthcare providers are often unable to update deprecated operating systems due to compliance requirements and restrictive terms and conditions of third-party software vendors.
- Windows Devices, Chrome Browser Dominate Business IT - Windows continues its dominance in the enterprise, accounting for 59% of devices used to access protected applications, followed by Mac OS X at 23%. Overall, mobile devices account for 15% of corporate access (iOS: 11.4%, Android: 3.7%). On the browser side, Chrome is king with 44% of total browser authentications, resulting in stronger security hygiene overall for organizations.
- UK and EU Trail US in Securing Cloud - United Kingdom and European Union-based organizations trail US-based enterprises in user authentications to cloud applications, signaling less cloud use overall or a larger share of applications not protected by MFA.
- News Release: Cisco Reports Privacy and Security Concerns Increase in Today’s Remote World
- Solution: Cisco Secure Remote Worker
- Reference: Cisco Cybersecurity Report Series