Most data breaches occur due to mobile devices. Employees are bringing their devices to the office to complete their work. This thought is a nightmare for most IT managers. However, BYOD is also helping companies in increasing their employee’s productivity. It can help employees by saving 90 minutes per week. However, there are also many security vulnerabilities of BYOD.

If you have already embraced the BYOD policy, then you should already know how difficult it is to enforce security policies. However, there is still hope for your business. There are many experienced MSPs that are offering BYOD security solutions to companies. They can help you in addressing the vulnerabilities related to BYOD. Also, they will ensure that they respect your employee’s privacy. In this article, we will share talk about the biggest BYOD security vulnerabilities.

Poor Communication

If your employees don’t understand your BYOD security policies, then they are already vulnerable. Most companies don’t even have a BYOD security policy. Security policy is going to play a big role if you want to protect your business from BYOD vulnerabilities.

Make sure that your employees know about your BYOD security policy. It will inform you about their responsibilities and rights. Also, this will ensure that they know about acceptable external device use. Sometimes a company’s policy can be too vague or restrictive. Thus, employees should at least know about these policies.

Solution: Make sure that your employees agree with your BYOD security policy. Your policy should give rights to your employees. It should talk about their responsibilities. You should determine the acceptable device use. Also, you should determine the departments that can use their devices. You should also create a procedure in case any device goes missing.

Stolen or lost devices

More than 60% of network breaches happen due to stolen or lost devices. This is a nightmare for companies as these devices can contain sensitive data. Thus, they can jeopardize your entire business. You should ensure that your users are protecting their devices with fingerprints and passwords. This will make sure that a potential thief will face various obstacles. Thus, you have a greater chance of protecting your data.

Solution: An MDM or Mobile Device Management solution can help you in solving this problem. It is very important for BYOD security as it will help you in locking or wiping your employee’s device. This will ensure that you can lock their device if it is lost. Also, you can wipe the data if your employee is leaving your company. These tools come with advanced security, access control, app management, and advanced security.

Unsecure Public networks

Sometimes your employees can use unsecured networks to complete their work. However, these networks can take down your entire business. Free public Wi-Fi hotspots in a coffee shop or airport might be convenient for your employees. However, these public networks can be insecure. More than 40% of BYOD devices get exposed to attacks in 6 months of use.

Your employees should use a VPN connection to access your network. If they don’t have a VPN connection, then they must use their own Wi-Fi connection or mobile data. These network options are more secure when compared to the public Wi-Fi network.

Solution: Your IT security team can use a security solution that will help them in creating a security profile for every user. This will help them in creating a custom security solution for every user. Thus, they can satisfy the organization’s security demands. There are many identity service engines available in the market. These tools can help you customize your security policies according to your users and devices.

Malicious apps

Malicious apps are the biggest mobile security concern. Sometimes even a simple flashlight app can have malicious malware code. You might think this app will help you find keys at night. Cybercriminals might use this app to access your device.

Make sure that your employees are not rooting or jailbreaking this device. If they are jailbreaking or rooting their devices, then they can install unapproved apps on their device. This will open their device to various new security vulnerabilities.

Solution: You can use the MDM system to solve this problem. It will help you customize control according to the apps that your users are using. It will help you in checking what application they are using. This will help you in banning all malicious apps. These MDM solutions will help you in setting up your business app store. This will ensure that your employees can only download approved apps.

Unsecure data transfer

The IT world is also a completely open world. You need to use the best security controls to protect your data from getting intercepted. It is important to control the data flow between your user’s devices. This can help you in preventing a data or security breach.

One of the best ways to protect your data is by using encryption, as it will help you in encoding your data. You need to use your key to decode your data. Thus, you should ensure that your employees are using a PIN code to protect their devices and applications.

Solution: You can use MCM or Mobile Content Management that will help you in separating user data from company data. This will help you in managing secure business data. It will ensure that your users are protecting your data. Many mobile security apps available in the market will help you control your data container. These tools will also help you in managing encryption. You can use these tools to control your user interaction.

Conclusion

The demand for BYOD is increasing with time. If you are allowing BYOD without creating any security strategy, then it will cost you. Thus, you should focus on creating a custom security strategy for your business. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can help you in addressing your unique security needs. They will ensure that your network is protected from BYOD vulnerabilities. Their security strategy will help protect your employee’s trust and the company’s data. If you need more information regarding BYOD, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.