NATICK, MA — (Marketwired) — 10/09/13 — ., a developer of enterprise-wide IT asset discovery and inventory management solutions, today announced a free offering of its service to provide enterprise-wide visibility into devices evading detection on company networks — including smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs. With SnapShot, organizations can better mitigate the risk of potential data breaches while also reducing the unnecessary costs of recurring monthly service and license fees for lost, stolen, missing and otherwise forgotten devices by clearly identifying these troublesome unaccounted-for “zombie” assets.
Victoria Barber, research director at Gartner, wrote, “Organizations frequently lose valuable assets when staff or contractors leave their employment. Without proper controls, significant financial liabilities and losses can go unmanaged. Investigating changes in the status of managed devices often uncovers process failures that allow assets and data to be lost to the organization.”
The free WatchDog SnapShot service collects a one-time comprehensive inventory of an organization-s data-bearing devices. Raw data is collected and analyzed. Once complete, the user will receive actionable reports allowing them to take the appropriate next steps to reconcile inactive devices on the network, devices with known security flaws that may need upgrading, dormant devices that are still incurring licensing fees and devices that have not been properly data-wiped.
Statistics show that, at any given time, 10% to 15% of an organization-s PCs and mobile endpoints are dormant but still accruing license and operating expenses, according to Amtel. When unaccounted for over prolonged periods, these zombie devices expose organizations to many forms of risk including potential security breaches, unnecessary spending and missed opportunities to maximize the value of the asset. Studies indicate a majority of data breaches are not cyber-attacks, but rather are related to zombie devices.
“Companies continue to invest in mobile endpoint technologies, yet risk for zombies grows due to the difficulty of managing the rapidly expanding IT infrastructure,” said Robert Rinaldi, co-founder and CEO of ITADSecurity. “Allowing zombie devices to exist on the network is much more dangerous than many companies realize. Just last month, a Midwest healthcare organization lost four desktops, containing four million patient records. The impact is estimated to cost over $100 million in fines, legal fees, credit counseling and lost revenue.”
Roger Marino, co-founder of EMC (NYSE: EMC) and founding member of ITADSecurity-s Board of Directors, said, “Today, device mishandling and data breaches account for more financial loss than cyber-attacks. Correct asset management will reduce data breach risk, while at the same time increase the value recovered from retired assets. WatchDog SnapShot provides the data required to accomplish this.”
WatchDog Snapshot allows users to reduce both expense and risk while also addressing e-waste disposal and sustainability concerns. These issues are not just of concern on a domestic level; companies around the globe face the threat of zombie devices while also grappling with differing privacy and security mandates regionally.
“In Europe, data security mandates are amongst the most punitive,” Steve Mellings, founder of ADISA, relates. “Corporate IT often focuses almost exclusively on the downstream external ITAD processes to try to manage the risk of displaced equipment, but we see some of the greatest vulnerabilities sitting inside the business itself. We advocate device data collection at the very point of decommission as being the key starting point in managing the chain of custody for retired IT and telecommunications equipment.”
Now through December 31, 2013, users can initiate the secure, free WatchDog SnapShot service simply by entering minimal corporate contact information at . Instructions on how to proceed will be returned immediately by email. ITADSecurity is a certified partner in the Secured by RSA program and an e-Stewards Enterprise.
Founded in 2011, ITADSecurity develops enterprise-wide data-bearing device discovery, ITAD process management and continuous monitoring solutions. ITADSecurity leverages existing tools such as SCCM and ActiveSync to make them more effective, providing a closed loop, cradle-to-grave automated management of zombie devices. The company-s WatchDog cloud-based platform and associated services deliver IT asset visibility and automated intelligence to organizations of all sizes and in all industries.
For more information, please visit
Jordan Bouclin
SVM Public Relations
401-490-9700
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