Tip of the Week: Better Understand BYOD

There are a lot of benefits to implementing a Bring Your Own Device policy for your business. Firstly, people will be able to use the devices that they’ve purchased, and have grown accustomed to, for work. Moreover, many times they can access company information with the use of easy-to-use mobile apps, providing them with more opportunities to be productive. In fact, many organizations that install a BYOD policy see the majority of their workforce work more, which creates more opportunities for revenue growth, and ultimately, higher profitability of the endeavor.

A problem some organizations have is that they don’t know where to start. Since IT security policies change from industry to industry, those of a BYOD strategy will too. It all depends on the type of data that is changing hands and the rules and regulations that data may have in the particular industry a business operates in.

Firstly, you’ll need to set up a device tracking system. A big part of BYOD is knowing who uses what device, and controlling the access certain people have to certain information. A spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets is a great place to set up a device tracking platform to be able to tell which devices belong to whom and what kind of access they need from those devices. You’ll want to document and arrange the following information for each user:

• Employee Name
• Device Make/Model/Serial Number
• Is there access to File Sharing?
• Is there access to Email?
• Is there access to the VPN?
• Is there access from the VPN?
• Is there Remote Desktop access?
• What network devices/drives can be accessed?
• What apps and licenses are required?

Another big part of a Bring Your Own Device Security Policy is the mobile management software you choose to implement. Without access to that software, any mobile policy your business implements has no teeth. MDM integration may be difficult to get everyone to agree to (as far as BYOD goes) since your typical MDM will provide administrators access to controls that most people would not be comfortable with. Conversely, without them, an organization wouldn’t’ be able to properly manage risk.

Nowadays, there are less comprehensive options that can work for everyone where the mobile device management software is replaced by a system that only gives admins visibility into the devices that access their network while implementing security frameworks for every application used by them, with controls to increase and decrease security as needed. By managing access at the application level, users won’t have to opt in to an overreaching mobile security platform run by people they don’t completely trust with the very personal information organizations have no business having access to.

You can’t sit back and expect that your organization is going to be safe if you don’t have some sort of strategy in place to manage access to your network. Whether that be a enterprise-level mobile device management platform or a BYOD strategy using simple tools, it’s on you to secure your network against all threats.

If you are looking for help securing your organization’s network against any type of outside devices, contact the IT professionals at Washington Works today. Our technicians have the expertise you can depend on to properly manage your data and infrastructure, keeping nefarious and unwanted information off of your network. For more information call us today at 301-571-5040.