The COVID-19 pandemic started the world’s biggest remote work experiment, which left many companies unprepared for the massive shift. Traditional offices and procedures that we all took for granted were no longer an option for many businesses in Chicago, Tampa, and the wider United States. Instead, companies had to rely on solutions and strategies that would give employees the flexibility to work from anywhere. Cloud technology is certainly instrumental in enabling remote work, but bring your own device (BYOD) arrangements also make the transition much more seamless for businesses.
BYOD is a policy in which companies allow employees to use their personal devices (e.g., smartphones, laptops, tablets, and USB drives) for work-related purposes. If your company is thinking of working remotely for the long term or implementing a hybrid arrangement where employees work in the office a few days a week, deploying a solid BYOD policy is a must.
What are the benefits of BYOD?
BYOD offers a host of benefits to businesses and employees. For one, your company won’t have to issue devices to all employees since most of them probably already have one. In fact, recent studies show that over 94% of US households own at least one computer. This means the cost of procuring new hardware and operating systems is shifted from the company to the employee, eliminating massive upfront costs. Employees are likely to take better care of their equipment, so maintenance costs will be lower, too. Furthermore, long term hardware costs can be reduced when companies decide to adopt BYOD, as employees may decide to upgrade their devices themselves when they become dissatisfied with its features/performance.
Perhaps most importantly, BYOD policies enable employees to work with their preferred devices. When companies mandate particular operating systems and computer hardware, they could potentially subject themselves and their employees to steep learning curves and initial inefficiencies in work tasks. BYOD policies eliminate this adjustment period so employees can be productive on day one. With BYOD, employees need only manage one device for business and private use, making it easy to take work with them wherever they go.
What are the challenges of implementing BYOD?
Despite their benefits, BYOD policies pose a few challenges. When everyone has their own device, it’s much more complex to support various operating systems and device models. Installing software updates on every employee device can be an extremely tedious and time-consuming process. Plus, some employee devices may be incompatible with company software, which will require your IT department to find workarounds.
However, the biggest challenge with BYOD policies is the potential security risks. Personal devices are not likely to have the same level of IT security measures in place as company devices, making it difficult to provide consistent protection across the board. There’s also a risk of employees mishandling their devices, leaving your business vulnerable to an attack. For example, employees may download and improperly store sensitive company information on local volumes, exposing your company’s proprietary data to unknown levels of risk.
Furthermore, the perceived sense of unlimited autonomy on personal devices could lead employees to adopt careless habits, including clicking on suspicious email links, leaving their unlocked devices unattended, or even selling their devices without securely erasing them. Employees may walk away with company data on their device, increasing your risk exposure. Overall, BYOD policies can pose a major security threat to company data if not properly implemented and maintained.
How can you establish a solid BYOD policy?
Creating a well-rounded BYOD policy is crucial in overcoming its many challenges. Here are the most important things you need to do:
1. Create a list of approved devices
While BYOD policies allow employees to choose their device for work, you’ll need to specify which devices will be permitted and supported in your company. You can classify approved devices by model, age, and operating system. Ideally, personal devices used for work should be up to date and compatible with your company’s systems. For example, companies likely don’t want devices that are a decade old because they tend to have performance issues and break down more frequently. You also don’t want devices running on unsupported operating systems like Windows 7 because they leave your company open to cyberattacks.
2. Use mobile device management (MDM) software
MDM software like Microsoft Intune is designed to help IT departments monitor, manage, and protect company-registered devices. This security solution has two key components: an MDM agent installed on a device and an MDM server residing in a data center. System administrators manage cybersecurity measures through the centralized MDM server and transmit them to personal devices with MDM agents. For instance, administrators can partition business and personal data in user devices to protect your employees’ privacy. This also makes it easy to wipe devices while keeping personal data intact when employees leave the company.
What’s more, MDM solutions come with a wide array of capabilities, including:
- Device inventory – Provides a detailed list of each device’s operating systems, hardware specifications, and patches so IT departments can quickly provide support when an issue occurs
- Location tracking – Uses GPS technology to monitor a device’s current location (you’ll need to provide employees a reasonable justification for enabling this feature so you don’t infringe on their privacy)
- Over the air distribution – Lets you install security software and updates onto all company-registered devices
- Remote troubleshooting – Allows system administrators to scan devices for problems and quickly resolve them from a central console
- Remote wiping – Enables you to partially or completely delete the data from a device in case of device theft or employees leaving the company
- Application whitelisting and blacklisting – Permits access to company-sanctioned apps while blocking applications deemed unsafe by security professionals
- Password policies – Encourages users to set long and unique passwords to prevent account hijacking
Related reading: Find out what you need to do to protect remote work environments
3. Practice the principle of least privilege
The principle of least privilege is a concept in which employees should have the minimum level of access necessary to do their job. With MDM solutions, administrators can restrict access to company resources based on the employees’ authorization level, device type, and location, and the time of day. They can even deny access to high-risk devices such as those that don’t have anti-malware installed or have outdated operating systems.3. Practice the principle of least privilege
In addition to access management, implementing multifactor authentication for company applications adds an extra step to the login process through security credentials such as one-time activation codes and biometric scans. This ensures that passwords aren’t the only thing standing between your data and unauthorized parties.
4. Define acceptable use policies
Acceptable use policies outline what employees are allowed to do with company-managed devices. These should specify what websites and activities are prohibited during company time (e.g., browsing social media and playing games). Your policies must cover what data employees are allowed to access outside the corporate network and whether files can be stored locally (if at all). Additionally, companies should consider mandating employee diligence regarding leaving their devices unattended, ensuring that company data isn’t freely accessed by an opportunistic criminal. In addition, company policy should explicitly deny the ability to share information over unsecured, public Wi-Fi networks.
Set clear expectations on what happens if an employee violates acceptable use policies. Also, you should state your company’s right to access, monitor, and delete information from employee devices under the BYOD program so there’s no point of contention between you and your staff.
5. Develop an exit strategy for employees
To minimize the risk of data breaches, you must have a clear plan for when employees leave the company or decide to opt out of BYOD. This mainly involves removing trusted devices on emails, uninstalling company applications, decommissioning user accounts, and wiping business data from personal devices. If you’re wiping data, notify your employees beforehand and have them back up any personal data on their devices so nothing important is erased.
6. Train your staff
For every employee who opts for the BYOD program, consider providing comprehensive security training. Get employees to develop good habits like being critical of suspicious emails or websites, setting strong passwords, and ensuring the network is secured before accessing sensitive data. Use a combination of lecture-style instruction, training simulations, and practical exercises to help your staff internalize BYOD security best practices.
While there’s a lot that goes into establishing BYOD policies, they can set your business up for success when you prioritize security and management concerns. If you need assistance with implementing BYOD, call Dynamic Solutions Group today. Our consultants will assess your needs, secure employee devices, and customize a BYOD policy that works for your company.
