According to managed IT services experts in Atlanta, one of the fastest growing trends in business is “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD). This trend involves employees using their personal devices, such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets to do work for their employer. It helps improve productivity and lowers costs.
Despite its popularity and benefits, however, there are distinct challenges to the BYOD trend.
Challenge #1 – Unsecured Networks
Open Wi-Fi connections have no security. That is a common warning you see when connecting to such a network. Yet, some employees think nothing of opening up their laptops and getting to work while sipping a coffee or eating lunch.
Hackers often sit in the same places, scanning the open network, looking for someone being careless. Once they find a weak point, they will exploit it. If one of your employees is logged into your systems via an unsecured network, your security is compromised.
Challenge #2 – Lenient Password Policies
People can be inherently lazy, especially for something they have to do repetitively such as enter passwords. That’s why they love the password save options available in many browsers. If they are using this option for saving their work passwords on their personal devices, it opens up the chance someone will gain access to your network.
According to managed IT services experts in Atlanta, a policy that requires strong passwords changed once a month is a start. It’s also important to prohibit the use of password save options.
Challenge #3 – No Barrier Between Work and Personal Use
In a BYOD environment, there is no barrier between a person’s work and a person’s personal use on the same device. They use the same browsers and sometimes the same apps. This lack of a barrier is a point of vulnerability.
For example, if an employee opens up a personal email that has a virus attached, the device can become infected. When the employee logs in to do work, that virus can infect the company systems.
Challenge #4 – Human Error
Employees are human. They lose things. They use shortcuts without thinking. They leave devices unlocked. All of these simple human fallibilities can compromise your company’s network.
Human error is the leading cause of cybersecurity breaches, according to managed IT security experts in Atlanta.
Each of these challenges can be countered with strong, effective BYOD policies. If you need assistance with developing and implementing a BYOD policy for your company, contact us now at MIS Solutions, Inc. We are the experts on BYOD and managed IT services in Atlanta.