Workforce mobility is undoubtedly the need of the hour for business organizations, regardless of their size and scale. In this context, bringing your own device (BYOD) emerges as the foundation of mobility as it lets employees use their personal devices for business tasks. More and more companies have embraced BYOD policies to enable people to work remotely and access corporate information and applications from wherever they are. This can help them save up on infrastructure and drive greater productivity and flexibility for their workforce.
But that’s just one side of the coin- there are some BYOD risks that you must be aware of as well before embracing the technology. The biggest risk that you can encounter is that of the unauthorized access or possible loss of sensitive corporate data. However, there are some effective risk mitigation strategies that can help you minimize and manage these risks and avail the advantages of BYOD without apprehensions. Here are the best strategies and practices you can rely on.
Have A Robust Security Policy In Place
Creating comprehensive and robust security policy for the entire organization and all employees is the best way to get started with BYOD deployment. Essentially, the policy should outline the set of common rules that every single employee using their personal devices for work will need to abide by. Further, it should address the common BYOD risks such as security breaches and data loss. Other aspects of the BYOD security policy include mandating the use of updated security software on the devices and ensuring regular data backups. Additionally, it should have a well-documented procedure that allows the employer to remotely wipe the lost or stolen devices.
Prioritize Prevention Of Data Leaks
Data leaks are a key concern for companies that implement BYOD because the personal device of the employees has access to the company network and confidential corporate data. There is always a risk of accidental or intentional data leak through loss or theft. Hence, it becomes vital to have a strategy for preventing data leaks. The best approach would be to secure and accelerate BYOD with mobile device management because it can give you a significant level of control over employee devices. With an MDM program in place, administrators can easily wipe a stolen or misplaced. Apart from MDM, you can also deploy a secure VPN to take data security to the next level. It ensures the safety of data from interception, even if the employees access the business network while on the go.
Train And Educate The Employees
Training and educating your workforce on security risks related to using their personal mobile devices is another integral element of a robust BYOD risk management strategy.
People who lack threat awareness are easy targets to hacking attacks and online scams, which can be extremely risky for any business from the data security perspective. Something as simple as an employee accessing a rogue website or downloading a malicious app can put the entire enterprise data at risk, which is the last thing you would want to happen. Going the extra mile with employee training and awareness can be a worthwhile effort and it makes them capable of dealing with digital security threats and fortifying your data security at all levels. Apart from educating them about possible threats, the training program should also highlight the value of best practices like using strong passwords.
Provide Support To The Workforce
Deploying BYOD as a part of your business operations is only half the work done; you also need to help the workforce to use their personal devices in a secure and efficient manner. The support is meant to be given for all stages of their BYOD device’s lifecycle, right from its initial onboarding to decommissioning. Further, your IT team should handle the responsibilities of configuring the devices properly, installing the latest security software on them, and ensuring that they are free of potential vulnerabilities. With a comprehensive support strategy, your employees will be more confident and comfortable with the BYOD culture. At the same time, you can rest assured about the risk of potential security breaches being minimal.
A BYOD policy can bring numerous benefits and unlock countless opportunities for your business. However, the inherent security risks may lead to some apprehensions and even prevent you from embracing technology. Still, a bring your own device policy isn’t something you should miss out on if you want to make your company future-ready. A proper approach that is based on effective risk mitigation strategies can make you more confident about empowering your business with BYOD.
