BYOD or Bring Your Own Device is a policy that refers to the use of personal devices being used in the workplace. This is not necessarily a new concept, it has been a slow shift in the way that business has been handled over the last ten years or so. BYOD really picked up within the last two years with the COVID-19 pandemic and the amount of employees that began working from home. BYOD literally means bring your own device, but it can be applied to anytime that a personal device is being used for company or organizational needs.
Risks/Vulnerabilities of BYOD Policies and Devices
Unprotected devices can lead to data breaches or data loss.
Many applications on a personal device will not be very strict with security policies, leaving you open to attacks.
Without anti-virus or endpoint security, there is a constant risk of malware finding it’s way onto the device.
Device theft or loss is also a concern if an attacker is able to get your device then they can attempt to access the information that is on it.
Employees leaving your organization is also a concern due to the fact that they would still have some company data or information on their device.
Personal devices that aren’t monitored can be used for various things other than work, which could lower productivity and efficiency.
Security Countermeasures
The first priority for BYOD issues is to create an organizational policy for how you want to handle those devices and the security.
You should make sure to install some sort of anti-virus or endpoint protection on the devices as well. It is important to understand that with this software you get what you pay for. Free or low-budget anti-virus software will help more than not having any at all. However, when you utilize professional grade software it is able to identify malware quicker and more efficiently and sometimes it can even handle the issue and resolve it without any interaction needed from you.
It would be a good idea, if you have the resources, to utilize a device management application or software in order to keep up with the devices and potential risks/vulnerabilities that they may face.
Firestorm Cyber and BYOD
Firestorm Cyber offers many cybersecurity tools to aid in the rapidly changing BYOD scene.
First off, one of the most important security features is endpoint protection. The Sophos endpoint protection that Firestorm Cyber utilizes is a great application that combines anti-virus and threat detection software. The endpoint protection not only identifies threats but eliminates them before they become an issue.
Another service that Firestorm Cyber offers is device management. Device management may seem like a small piece of cybersecurity, but it plays a major role in our ability to help our customers. Our device management software allows us to remote in to your devices so we can directly look and see what the issue is so that we can help you to resolve it.
With the combination of the device management software and the endpoint protection, Firestorm Cyber is able to help you make sure that your BYOD devices and the information that they store is secured and safe.