Bring your own device (BYOD) refers to a policy of permitting employees to use personally-owned devices (laptops, tablets, and smartphones) to access company information and applications. BYOD continues to grow in popularity among businesses as a means to increase mobile and work from anywhere productivity choices for employees or reduce hardware expenditures.
However, security can be a concern when it comes to BYOD. With an influx of personal devices in the workplace, the possibility of viruses, hacks, and data leaks is elevated. Every device that accesses company information represents an additional endpoint that hackers can attempt to breach.
There are several reasons to offer a BYOD policy:
- Increased worker satisfaction. Employees can use the devices they prefer and enjoy greater productivity because they are using familiar tools.
- Less IT burden. Having employees take care of their own device’s maintenance means less involvement and work from the information technology’s (IT) department.
- Saving money. Employees pay for their own devices and the maintenance that goes along with them.
Increased employee engagement. Employees can get work done without having to physically be at the office. This gives them greater flexibility to manage their schedules and stay on top of their work
What steps can you take to reduce the risks of BYOD?
Some of the top measurements you should have are:
- Establish strict security measures for all devices: Your policy needs to make it clear that employees who want to use their devices with your systems must accept the use of complex password, and multi-factor authenticator
- Mobile Device Management: As more companies switch to remote work, a mobile device management system is important to have when protecting your documents and managing threats to your network
- Create an exit strategy: remember to remove access to e-mails and data etc. Once you know an employee will no longer be in your company, you should disable the access to all of the organisation’s documents.
