Mobile devices offer the power of a workstation in the palm of your hand, and just like a workstation they can expose your organization to a data breach if not properly managed. Here are some steps you can take to get the most out of your mobile devices while also making them more secure.
First off, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets have come a long way over a very short time. Personally, I remember getting my first Android tablet. It was a nice novelty—I could manage my calendar on it, but I mostly ended up using it for streaming Netflix. At the time, it wasn’t quite as powerful as my phone, and the size made it hard to justify using in a lot of cases—especially when I also carried around a fairly thin and light laptop.
Fast forward a few years, and while the world isn’t saturated with tablets, they are much more powerful, thinner, and destined to replace laptops in some cases. I see people pull them out and fold out a keyboard to type notes, edit documents, and do a lot of things that would normally be relegated to a laptop.
Mobile phones have gotten even more capable too—I know people who plug their Samsung Galaxy S22 into a little docking station and use it to replace the desktop experience. They either bring their own portable keyboard and mouse, or plug into a public PC and their smartphone is the computer.
And the user experience is incredible. We’ve come so far with these devices, and businesses need to embrace the fact that good employees will use their personal devices to be better, more effective workers.
Detroit Businesses, Have You Embraced BYOD?
Mobile computing has grown far beyond its origins from being primarily used as portable phones. They have long evolved into fully realized mobile computers and, as such, are the future of business. Smartphones have transitioned into a constant companion, revolutionizing our lives, work, and play. It’s fair to say that once a fad, mobile computing, especially smart devices, is a dominant force in modern technology.
As a part of the IoT and the IIoT, smart devices such as mobile phones should be considered and treated as essential components of your business, as every industry has begun to rely upon smart devices for a variety of tasks.
As mobile technology becomes more integrated into the business community, now is the time to recognize how critical mobile technology is and be committed to ensuring your organization follows best practices.
Some Best Practices for Mobile Devices
When implementing BYOD systems, most businesses grant Wi-Fi access to mobile devices and believe they are finished “setting up.” Unfortunately, in today’s environment, giving mobile devices unfettered access to your network places your network and your data at risk of a cyberattack. It is essential to understand that all aspects of your business technology are interconnected. Unless you create a system of managing who can access your network, you expose it all to compromise.
In other words, you can’t set it and forget it when you allow mobile devices (or any device for that matter) access to your network and company data. You need to make an effort to ensure your connected devices work for your business and not against it. Here are some best practices you should enact before opening your network to mobile users.
Manage Your Remote Users
The value of many smart devices is their mobility, which often places them out of the physical control of your organization. This makes it critically important to manage them whenever they connect to your system—wherever they are. While there could be privacy concerns, the reality is that once a device has access to your organization’s network, you have a responsibility to manage how it accesses your data.
The simplest method of managing access is envisioning your data locked in a room. The most effective means of keeping the room secure is limiting the number of people you give keys to. Your data security should follow the same principle, limit the number of people who have access to your sensitive data. This is known as setting access permissions or privileges.
Simply put, the level of privileges determines what information a user can have access to. By limiting the access privileges of mobile users (or any user for that matter) on an as-needed basis, you can substantially reduce the chances of your data being compromised. This is also an effective method of protecting your data from phishing attacks designed to take advantage of your team members’ ability to access your data. If your team member can’t access your sensitive data, then the risk of losing sensitive data in a phishing attack is significantly reduced.
Are You Fully Supporting Your Mobile Device?
Supporting your BYOD solutions should consist of more than just giving your team free Wi-Fi when they are in the office. As mobile devices continue to have an oversized presence in the business environment, here are some areas your business should consider:
- Mobile device setup and activation support
- App support
- Settings and enhancements
- Device training
- App installation
- Device integration
- Data synchronization
Detroit Businesses, Are You Taking Full Advantage Of Mobile?
Mobile devices, which are mobile computers, allow businesses of any size to function at the same level as larger enterprise-sized organizations, changing the boundaries of how companies operate. Mobile devices encompass rapidly changing technologies that require your organization to constantly monitor and adapt to these changes. However, doing so can be challenging due to the amount and variety of mobile devices.
With over 90% of Americans owning some form of mobile device, not only will the majority of your team members have a mobile device, chances are you will find yourself facing a wide range of different devices that you will have to support. While it would be easier to supply your team with company-issued devices, it could be cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses, hence the popularity of BYOD. Yet as we have seen, BYOD is more than just adding new devices to your Wi-Fi.
Before adding mobile devices, you need to analyze your existing system and business practices to determine the best configurations that benefit your business and improve efficiency for you and your team.
At first glance, this can seem to be a daunting task; fortunately, you don’t have to face it alone.
With Fuse Technology Group as your IT partner, issues with device specialization are no longer a concern for your business. We specialize in mobile computing and support for many devices, giving your organization and team the options and opportunity to be successful. If you’re ready to embrace mobile computers, schedule an appointment with us by calling 248.545.0800 today.