The increased use of unsecured and unmanaged Apple devices at work is exposing companies to significant liabilities.
According to a survey conducted by Dimensional Research for security identities firm Centrify, 45% of respondents in the US use at least one Apple device for work purposes.
While 63% said that they used Apple devices to access work email, corporate documents and business applications, 59% used Macs to access confidential company information.
The survey, which covered 2,249 workers, also found that 65% of Macs are used to access sensitive or regulated customer information, with 51% of respondents using iPhones in the workplace to access business applications.
Businesses are not investing enough resources to secure or manage the Apple devices, as 51% of the devices have passwords that consist of a single word or a series of numbers.
Around 56% of the respondents claimed that they share passwords with others, and 58% do not have software installed to enforce strong passwords.
Only 28% of Apple devices have company provided device management systems, while 35% have encryption of stored data courtesy of the company.
Centrify marketing senior vice-president Bill Mann said: "Centrify’s Apple survey spotlights the massive exposures that occur when devices do not comply with standard corporate security policies.
"In particular, customer data represents a huge liability. Disclosure of regulated information such as healthcare records could expose corporations to fines and other legal action.
"Most importantly, there are solutions on the market today that can handily secure Apple devices without sacrificing user productivity. It’s time for IT to take action."