No one wants to come down too hard on the younger set these days because anyone who does runs the risk of looking old and out-of-touch. This is especially true when it comes to the use of technology. But Constantine von Hoffman bravely steps up to speak truth to power: The up-and-coming generation presents a greater security risk to the company than the old folks.

"The fact is," von Hoffman writes in a post at CIO magazine, "having grown up with the web, KTDs [kids these days] are more familiar with different parts of it while also being a lot less savvy about using it. This poses a big problem for security issues."

The so-called millennial workers bring to the office not just their own smartphones and tablets but also an expectation that the IT department will make sure they can use them safely, according to Cisco's (NASDAQ: CSCO) annual security report. In other words, these employees don't see security as their responsibility. 

Along with fresh ideas and enthusiasm, they bring a very laissez-faire attitude about posting information online. "Everyone knows about KTDs who have gotten into trouble--professional and otherwise--for posting pictures on Facebook, etc.," von Hoffman writes. "This same cluelessness applies to other types of information as well as other things they do on the internet."

The flip side of the coin--and the good news for CIOs--is that these employees are also more relaxed about letting IT install security protections on their devices. "Where mastodons like yours truly might get all libertarian about this, for most KTDs this would be like getting libertarian about the toaster or some other utensil," he writes.

For more:
- see Constantine von Hoffman's post at CIO

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