BYOD Security in the Workplace

BYOD – How to Protect Against Security Risks

BYOD – bringing your own device – is on the increase in the modern workplace. In fact, it’s estimated that the BYOD culture is used by 75% of high-growth markets. This makes good sense, as employees are much more comfortable using their own devices and it eliminates the need to switch between a personal device and a work one. What’s more, it helps businesses reduce their costs, not to mention that employee productivity is said to increase by 34%. That being said, there are a few BYOD security and privacy risks that your business must be aware of.

BYOD Security Risks

When introducing BYOD to your business, employees are concerned about the confidentiality of their personal data while business owners are worried about the security of corporate data.

BYOD Security risks include:

• Data leakage – possible data breach or disclosure of information from an unsecured device

• Data loss – theft or physical loss of a device, which could also lead to a compromise of confidential data

• Insecure usage – use of a BYOD by friends or family at home

• Dangerous apps – compromised integrity due to push-notifications that are allowed or location-based services enabled

• Cross-contamination – as personal and business data is stored on the same device, business data may at times be accidentally deleted

• Public exposure – susceptibility to attacks at public wi-fi spots that may be used by employees working remotely

What BYOD security measures can you put in place?

To protect your sensitive information, businesses should have the following measures in place:
• a system to assess the integrity of an employee-owned device
• the capability to protect and isolate business information and data
• strong authentication mechanisms before a user can access business applications and data
• confidentially protection of any communication between a device and business services
• the ability to know what, where, when, who and how your business data and services were accessed
• the facility to remotely delete the business data from a lost device, along with the ability to locate any lost device

While it’s true that BYOD can pose certain security risks to your business, when managed properly, a BYOD culture can increase productivity and lower costs without hindering your business data. Simply educating your employees on the best way to protect their devices goes a long way in ensuring that your business data stays secure. For more information on how to protect your business information and stay safe online, call Advance Computer Systems today on 01904 653789 or click here.