Personnel privacy and organisational data: the awareness and policy enforcement for smartphone security among the Malaysian Armed Forces Personnel

The utilisation and people's dependency on smartphones in this digital era are unavoidable. Smartphones play certain functions in every lifestyle and have become 'a must have' gadget to everyone. Some new issues emerge when the users do not consider the security of their multipurpose mobile devices, leaving an opening to digital crime. This includes the use of various communication applications which are prone to security breach. There have been complaints of misuse or improper handling of smartphone usage among Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) personnel, which also falls under the category of information security. This paper focuses on identifying the perception of smartphone usage and security awareness among the MAF which data from 100 participants has been gathered and analyzed. The MAF personnel are not exceptional to the prevalence of smartphone usage, making them also at risk of being targeted by the enemy or any particular parties with bad agendas towards the organization and the country.