Mobile security company MobileIron has released new statistics on the “State of App Security.” As businesses increasingly incorporate mobile technology into their everyday workflow, mobile business data is becoming a liability. Devices such as smartphones and tablets are valuable business tools but they have forced IT departments and corporate administrators to change existing workplace policies for both security and privacy as well as productivity. After polling their customers, they compiled this list of the top ten apps which have been banned in the workplace:  

1. Dropbox 

2. Angry Birds

3. Facebook

4. OneDrive 

5. Google Drive 

6. Box 

7. Whatsapp

8. Twitter

9. Skype

10. SugarSync 

As noted in the study, “Employees may store corporate documents on personal Enterprise File Sync and Sharing (EFSS) apps, putting sensitive corporate data outside of IT's protection. Five of the top ten consumer apps that are blacklisted by MobileIron customers are EFSS apps.” Those apps include Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and SugarSync. In addition to creating a liability by storing corporate data in a personal account, file sync and sharing apps also create liabilities with regards to impeding network bandwidth, as they facilitate the transfer of massive files.  

Angry Birds, the second item on the list, is the only game and the only item on the list which couldn’t possibly be justified as being used for work purposes, though it’s a satisfying time waster. Back in 2011, as the game’s popularity peaked, the cost of Angry Birds to business was estimated in the billions. 

Facebook and Twitter are social networks and likely blocked by IT departments due to not complying with existing corporate policies. Skype and Whatsapp are messaging apps, in addition to the potential for wasting work time, they may also be susceptible to privacy and security vulnerabilities that contradict the policies of the workplace. Other notable findings from the study: one in ten enterprises have at least once compromised mobile device accessing their network and more than half of enterprises have at least one device that is not in compliance with corporate security policies.