BYOD – Bring Your Own Device – is changing the way companies operate and employees work. Many employees are bringing and using their own smartphones at work, mostly to send and receive email (99 percent). A smaller, but growing percentage are using mobile devices to access company files or business-related apps.
All of these scenarios pose potential security problems for companies, especially since the BYOD trend is growing. Small-business owners and C-suite executives (COO, CEO, CIO) are well advised to implement mobile device controls to keep your business data secure. But how can you secure your business data while still giving your employees the tools they need to work in a world of mobile devices?
Protect your intellectual property! Company email, calendars, documents and contacts are all intellectual property of the organization, and must be shielded from cyber-attacks, misuse, loss or theft. Some of the information on your employees’ smartphones may be sensitive customer data, trade secrets, contracts or other confidential information that require a high level of security. There are several ways to do this.
Issue corporate phones. Just as with company laptops, many large and mid-sized companies now issue company smartphones to employees in order to access corporate email and files. This offers the highest level of security since the devices are preloaded with the software and apps employees need and nothing else. They can also be locked so employees cannot install any apps except those that are permitted by the organization.
With company-issued smartphones, your IT team can control how employees connect to corporate email or files, and how they use Cloud-based apps. This allows the business to better control its data, who has access to it, and how it’s shared.
The IT department can also remotely wipe these devices clean when an 手機回收價錢 employee leaves or in the event of loss or theft of the device. Removing all business data from a mobile device is critical when a smartphone has reached the end of its life and is going to be recycled and replaced by another phone.
Company-issued phones are very practical if you have a highly mobile work force that is out in the field a lot, such as sales reps, construction crews, or technicians. In order to stay connected to the home office, their job requires them to have always-on mobile access. For best results, choose a strong carrier with wide coverage and reliable service.
Deploy monitoring software. For either employees’ own phones or company-provided devices, employers can install geo-location software that monitors the device’s location in case of theft or loss, tracks its location remotely, and as noted above, can remotely remove data from the lost smartphone as a way to protect company files (email addresses, contact information, etc.).
This software must be deployed before the device is lost. Explain to the employee what it is and why it is being installed, make sure all relevant staff members know how to use it, and confirm this with the department manager or the employee’s supervisor before setting the phone up with any kind of mobile access to the company’s computing infrastructure.
Some monitoring apps also enable the IT team to push out updates to employees’ devices (whether Android, Apple, or Windows) to make sure everyone is using the same versions of software or services and that everyone is updated at the same time. In addition, it allows the company to update the operating system and send security updates to fix system bugs and prevent viruses.
