The Internet of Things has become one of the central parts of connectivity in a tech-centric world. Despite the incredible convenience that these devices offer to users, they come with considerable security risks that absolutely need to be kept in mind. We’re going to discuss some of the ways you can keep the IoT from being a security hazard while optimizing how much you get out of it.
The use of mobile and personal devices for work purposes can be beneficial to your business operations. When handled, and supported properly, they have been shown to improve communication methods and increase productivity. However, the popularity of mobile computing, as well as the Internet of Things’ rapid expansion, means it’s more important than ever to make sure that you don’t allow dangerous devices to access your network. To keep your network safe, there are a few Mobile Device Management best practices that you should begin enforcing.
Did you know that, according to Gartner, a whole 80 percent of all employees bring their personal mobile devices to the office? It’s a rather troubling development for business owners who want to secure their data and keep their employees productive. However, this Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend has proved extremely beneficial for prepared organizations. This must prompt the question of how your business manages mobile devices in the workplace.
The usual response to mobile devices appearing in offices is either the employer supplying company devices, or preventing their use altogether. Unfortunately, neither of these are all positive, so it’s best to approach the situation with an informed and open mind. What follows are the circumstances that come with each approach.
Company-Provided Mobile Devices
Depending on the kind of work your organization does, providing company devices might be beneficial for employees. However, you’ll need to consider all of the finer details, including which platform the devices run on (iOS, Android, Windows), contract terms, and how your organization plans on controlling and protecting data located on the devices. Creating a policy that clearly outlines how work and personal information is separated on the device, the privileges that the employee has with the device, a plan if the device is ever misplaced, and what happens when the employee quits, is the key to guaranteeing data security.
Unfortunately, this is often seen as a quick fix. You are spending money and forcing your employees to comply with the rules, but this doesn’t fix the problem of controlling data on its own. Statistics also show that employees aren’t particularly unhappy about company-owned devices, but that the solution can feel like a slap in the face to employees who work well using their own personal devices. On the other hand, some staff might feel excited about a brand new smartphone on the company’s budget, so it’s up to you to determine what the best approach to this situation is.
Banning Personal Devices Altogether
Some employers will just fully ban access to personal devices, which means that any employee using them for any reason will be written up or face similar consequences. While this can protect your data, this will likely create a rift between your employees and management. You might only be trying to protect your data, but they’ll only see this as management making their jobs more difficult. While this doesn’t necessarily happen all the time, it’s still often enough to cause concern. It’s also problematic for your organization, as mobility is likely something that your competitors have considered implementing themselves.
Thankfully, There Are Options
If you can meet your employees in the middle ground of this sensitive topic, they’ll be thankful for it. By this, we mean taking the time to discuss data security with your employees while allowing them to use their own personal devices, so long as they abide by your protocol. Employers have the opportunity to push policies such as including some type of authentication on their devices (passwords, pins, patterns, etc), alongside secondary measures such as two-factor authentication on accounts located on the device. Providing the employer with the rights to revoke access to email and the ability to wipe data in the event of a stolen device must also be a point of discussion.
Laptops brought from home should be outfitted with company antivirus protection and remote monitoring, along with the ability to set up a VPN or hosted desktop solution so that there's no need to worry about what sorry state the device is in. This can also make it easier to solve troubles with software licensing and accessing company data while on a public Wi-Fi connection.
The best way to approach personal mobile devices in the office is by implementing a BYOD strategy. This should be capable of responding to any and all security discrepancies that may arise from mobile devices being used for work purposes. If you’re having trouble putting together such a policy, it’s in your best interest to reach out to professional technicians for consultation. Infradapt can help your organization put together a solid BYOD policy that keeps your data secure. To learn more, reach out to us at 800.394.2301.
Computers have evolved from giant machines that take up an entire room, to compact devices that can fit in your pocket. In fact, today’s smartphones are more powerful than computers built a decade ago, which is an impressive testament to the growth of computing. This mobility trend is a huge factor that every modern business must consider.
Your business needs to focus on mobility, and in doing so, you’ll be able to take advantage of many benefits. Yet, this isn’t to say that mobility doesn’t come with its fair share of problems. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to determine whether or not you want to provide mobile devices to your staff. Just know: the benefits, when handled properly, can far outweigh the risks.
Mobile technology can be a powerful asset that can help your business bypass barriers associated with traditional office operations. Here are some of the primary reasons why your business needs to take mobile technology into account:
Improved Productivity
Since your team will have mobile devices, they can work and be productive anytime, anywhere. Your employees can check their email, organize their schedules, and communicate while out of the office. Mobile technology is valuable primarily because it gives your team the opportunity to work as they see fit, allowing them to get more work done, on or off the clock.
Workplace Versatility
Giving your team the choice of how and where to work can be empowering, and a mobile office provides the technology needed to accommodate this office design. Are there many places in the office where your team can set up shop for a few hours? This is helpful if your employees need a nice, quiet place to get something done, especially if your office is usually rife with chatter of all kinds. If your office environment is structured without a lot of room for collaboration, letting teams meet up in a conference room or break area can empower employees to work together face-to-face.
Greater Efficiency
Improving mobility allows your business model to become more efficient, as you will also be designing your infrastructure with the intention of maximizing access to data and applications. This keeps your employees productive by guaranteeing that all critical assets will be available anytime, anywhere.
With all technology solutions that affect your network in some way, shape, or form, you need to make sure that it doesn’t put your organization’s data at risk. This is most important for mobile devices, which often do quite a bit of roaming. You don’t want these devices to accidentally share information with the outside world or potentially threatening sources. Plus, if these devices are taking corporate data off the company network, and carrying them around multiple Internet connections, there’s no telling what threats are lying in wait for it on unsecured networks.
If your team wants to take advantage of mobile devices, you should consider a BYOD policy that’s designed to keep your business’s critical assets safe. One of the best ways to do so is by implementing a mobile device management solution that allows for blacklisting/whitelisting of apps, remote wiping, and can restrict the flow of data on a per user level.
To learn more about mobile devices and productivity, reach out to us at 800.394.2301.
Mobile devices have grown extraordinarily popular in the workplace. Organizations find them to be of considerable value for staying connected and getting work done while outside the office. This trend has presented a serious risk in the form of network and data security. How can businesses support mobile devices in the workplace, without compromising on the security of the device and the data it holds?
Data leakage is one of the major pain points of businesses that allow employee-owned mobile devices in the workplace. Every business has sensitive information that needs to be secured from malicious entities, no matter how benign it seems. As the business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that you have a policy put into place to protect your data. In the case of mobile devices, you need a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that dictates how an employee uses their mobile devices for work purposes.
A recent study by Bitglass shows that 72 percent of various organizations, including financial, technology, healthcare, government, and education, feel that BYOD should be supported for at least some of their employees. As for mobile device management, which is an organization’s control over devices used by employees, only 14 percent of organizations used solutions that protect data with device encryption. This is a significant difference that reveals a tricky situation: company’s like the idea of BYOD, but don’t (or aren’t able to) implement a mobile device management solution.
Naturally, you can’t let your business be the next to lose information due to mobile security threats. Implementing a mobile device management solution from Infradapt can help your business retain complete control over the data that’s stored on your employees’ mobile devices. You can restrict access to data based on work role, whitelist and blacklist app data, and even remotely wipe devices:
For more information about BYOD and mobile device management solutions, reach out to Infradapt at 800.394.2301.