How to limit the security risks of bring your own device

Providing the right technology tools so your employees can exchange ideas and do their jobs more effectively is something all employers strive to do. One way to achieve this, at a lower cost, is by allowing employees to bring your own device or BYOD.
With BYOD, employees use their personal mobile devices, laptops and tablets to access corporate email, documentation and applications, and use unified communications solutions to make or receive calls, check voicemail and view the presence of their colleagues to see their availability.
These activities are especially important when the mobility, such as with the sales force, business owners, project manager or trainers, is a critical component of their job description. Some business owners, however, hesitate to follow this path because of concerns about security — a fear that can be minimized with the right management.
“BYOD started about five or six years ago and back then there were a lot of issues regarding security,” says Brian Yeary, senior technology consultant at Warwick Communications Inc. “But that has changed since companies’ IT departments are making companywide policy’s and applications that reduce that risk”
Smart Business spoke with Yeary about best practices for managing your BYOD policy.
What are you seeing with BYOD right now?
BYOD is still an increasing trend for small, midsize and large businesses, regardless of type of company or industry. It allows employees the freedom to work remotely in a productive manner, which is turn increases employee morale. The trend created a buzz when it was first introduced and that buzz is still there because it continues to increase productivity and reduce cost for employers.
Employers don’t have to spend as much on employees’ mobile devices such as phones, tablets and laptops, and those same employees can still work effectively on the road or at home, especially with telecommunication tools like unified communications.
How do you recommend employers best manage their BYOD?
As employees utilize their own devices, it does come with risk to the company, such as when their mobile device is stolen or lost and it has company information on it.
A companywide BYOD policy should be put in place, which needs to be signed by all employees to ensure there will be no confusion. You don’t want a lack of user security awareness to contribute to the risk of information being accessed. You also can password protect certain data items and establish a screen timeout period.
Mobile device management (MDM) is an industry term for the administration of BYODs. This solution, which can be either on-premise or cloud-based, helps ensure employees stay productive and do not breach any corporate polices. MDM helps companies deal with data segregation, securing emails, securing company documents, enforcing corporate polices and managing mobile devices including laptops or tablets.
If employees must go through an MDM application to get to company information, it allows the IT administrator to manage the users. The MDM can provide a hardware and application inventory; mobile app deployment, updating and removal; mobile app configuration and policy management; and remote view and control for troubleshooting. A remote wipe can be used to if the device is lost or stolen, or if the company no longer employs the employee — where the wipe only deletes corporate information.

Companies also have to realize they may have to upgrade their data infrastructure to accommodate the increasing number of BYODs on your network. That may mean your wireless infrastructure will need to be upgraded.

Insights Telecommunications is brought to you by Warwick