Bring Your Own Device (to work)

Bringing your own device (BYOD) to work has become very common in today's society.  It's very convenient for employees to be able to log into their work from any place at any time without having to switch devices.  It can also save companies some money on hardware if their employees are using their own devices.  However, allowing your employees to bring their own device can put your business at risk for cyber attacks.

BYOD Risks

Here are a few of the many ways that BYOD creates risk within the company environment.

1. Increased Risk of Data Theft

Having personal use accounts on the same device as company use accounts creates a vulnerability when the personal accounts are not as strict on their security requirements. This personal account can be hacked, allowing cybercriminals into your company's data via the device. 

2. Stolen Devices

Lost or stolen devices can quickly become a crisis.  Sometimes BYODs are not managed by the IT department meaning that lost or stolen devices cannot be wiped by the company. As such, if the employee wasn't following the company's security protocols, the device could easily cause a breach of the company's network.  However, even if the IT department is managing the devices, a stolen personal device is never a good thing for the company.  For instance, many users store their personal and business passwords within their browser or on a desktop notepad.

3. Former Employees

When an employee leaves a company, it is critical that the company is able to revoke their access to any and all company data and applications.  This becomes much more difficult to do when the former employee brought their own device to work.  It also makes it much more difficult for the company to be able to track down the device responsible should a security breach ever occur.

4. Legal Concerns

Security breaches can critically damage the reputation of a business, as well as cause legal troubles.  Controlling what happens on employee-owned devices can be much more difficult than on company-owned devices.  This means that the risk of a breach is higher as well as the risk of damaging the business's reputation.

The Good News

BYOD certainly comes with its own risk - a few of which were listed here.  However, all of this comes with a bit of good news.  Should you choose to let your employees bring their own devices to work, there is BYOD software that IT companies can use to help significantly reduce the risk of data theft.  This is because this software allows the IT department's technicians to gain visibility into the devices and monitor for strange activities.  There is also software that would allow the IT department to completely wipe the device.

If you have a BYOD policy at your company talk to us.  Whether you want to ensure that you are using BYOD in the safest way possible, or want to move away from it entirely, we can help.  You can call us at (817) 693-1042 or send us a message HERE.  We look forward to helping you.