Employees who use dating apps on their company’s smartphone or tablet could be exposing themselves to security threats such as hacking, spying and data theft, a study by IBM has found.
Researchers analyzed 41 dating applications and found that 60% were potentially vulnerable to cyberattacks, putting personal or corporate data at risk, reports Reuters.
IBM also highlighted problems with employees using their personal phone for work purposes, which is known as “bring your own device,” or BYOD.
“The trouble with BYOD is that, if not managed properly, the organizations might be leaking sensitive corporate data via employee-owned devices,” the report said.
One issue is that when people are looking for love on dating sites, they could be letting their guard down more than they would if they were using emails or on the phone, IBM says.
Many of these sites have access to a phone’s microphone, camera or GPS location and so if hackers find a security flaw in the app, they could eavesdrop on potentially sensitive conversations or confidential business meetings.
[Reuters]
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
