Boyd: Bring Your Own Device Reports Example

Mobile device use has become a part of our personal lives. Employees want to use their personal devices to conduct their work, and most organizations support this. Employees can access their work emails, calendars, data and other applications. The use of personal devices comes with security risks to the organization.
One of the risks relating to the use of personal devices is the loss of devices. Millions of mobile devices get stolen every year. Most of the devices get stolen and sold on the second-hand market, but others get stolen for their content. Company’s data can become compromised if an employee’s device gets stolen. Lost or stolen devices have been the cause of security breaches in some companies.
The ability to access organization’s information from mobile devices increases the risk. A stolen or lost device can compromise the data in the device and the organization’s data access channels. If a hacker can manipulate some of the network ports and connections, this can compromise the security of the entire company. An experienced hacker can also use the stolen device to plant bugs and gain access to the organization’s data without anyone noticing.
It is not realistic to stop employees from using mobile devices for work since it increases productivity, but there is a need to control so as to reduce the number of risks. Employees should be limited to the kind of devices they can use, the acceptable software, device models, and brands. A number of responsibilities are on all employees who use mobile devices. For instance, one should report a stolen or lost device within a given timeframe. Also, there should be exit requirements for those leaving the organization such as deleting all data and applications, as well as, revoking access to the company’s network. Such exit requirements are the prerogative of the employer.
Employees should also agree to certain security measures such as remote data deletion. Mobile devices that have stored the organization’s data should be remotely deleted after a certain period or in case the device gets stolen. Despite mobile device use increasing, employers should not assume that all employees want these devices. Employees should have the option of using their devices instead of the organization’s devices especially when privacy is concerned.