Mobile devices such as laptops are posing a security risk to large organisations when they are not connected to the network, according to a new report.

Research conducted by BigFix revealed that 40 per cent of businesses had suffered at the hands of malware, even though the vast majority (80 per cent) had industry leading antivirus products installed.

Of those that had been affected by malware, 30 per cent attributed the intrusion to their security configuration management (SCM) solutions' inability to manage mobile devices when they were not connected to the network.

Nearly half of the respondents said they were using either Microsoft SMS or IBM Tivoli, however, 45 per cent admitted that they were unsatisfied with their current SCM systems.

"Clearly, securing a mobile workforce needs to be a top priority for global companies. Legacy security solutions can't manage these blind spots effectively, and consequently leave the enterprise vulnerable to all kinds of attacks and intrusions," warned Amrit Williams, chief technical officer of BigFix.