But while 41% say their adoption rates are in line with expectation, BYOD adoption is not catching on as anticipated at almost one-third of companies.

So why are employees reluctant to jump on their organization's BYOD bandwagon?

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By and large, employees' biggest concerns with BYOD was security (39%), followed by worries over the privacy of their data (12%).

Their apprehension was not misplaced. Across many industries, mobile devices are increasingly coming under the threat of cyberattacks, some of which are ransomware attacks.

More than 70% of the cybersecurity professionals surveyed cited data leakage or loss as their top concerns, while slightly more than half also cited authorized access, user downloads of unsafe apps or content, and malware.

And at many companies these worries translated into unwelcome realities — almost 40% of respondents noted that BYOD devices or corporate devices have downloaded malware in the past, while 21% noted that mobile devices were involved in security breaches at their companies as well.

Almost a quarter reported that these devices connected to a malicious Wi-Fi network in the past.

While around a vast majority (80%) of respondents said malware protection and the ability to log, monitor and report devices was a key requirement for confronting mobile security threats, only 63% noted they had password protections for BYOD devices, while less than half had remote wipe capabilities (49%) or device encryption (43%).

Holger Schulze, founder of the 300,000 member Information Security Community on LinkedIn, noted that implementing greater security processes and oversight is difficult for companies as they may stifle the appeal and benefits that BYOD policies offer in the first place.

"There is a balance to be struck between security from a company's perspective in terms of locking down a device against malware, against use of unsecured and untrusted Wi-Fi networks, against content or sites that can be accessed, and the balance on the other side of keeping the device open and useful for the employee," Schulze said. "Obviously you can't limit that too dramatically, as employees will stop using their device for corporate purposes. So that balance is one of the critical issues that's holding back companies … it might be easier to resolve in environments where companies have control over all devices."

Originally published on LegalTech. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.