Having a mobile workforce can benefit almost any business. Smartphones provide your employees access to company workflow 24/7. Company mobile devices and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) smartphones can increase productivity and efficiency.In fact, 71 percent of CIOs see company mobile devices as a way to revolutionize their companies. And 55 percent of CIOs see it as one of the biggest business trends.
But before you implement a company mobile device policy, there are a few key questions to ask:
Let’s take a deeper look at the above questions to ensure your company mobile device policy is powerful and secure.
The win-win for mobile devices in the workforce, whether BYOD or company-issued, is the productivity and efficiency gains that we are saying. It’s a win-win because not only do employers see an increase in productivity, but their employees also receive more personal time as members of a mobile workforce.For some data backing that, we looked at a recent survey of 500 managers and executives by Frost & Sullivan and Samsung. We found that employees added an extra hour of work time to their day, but also received nearly an extra hour of personal time. This led to a 34 percent increase in productivity.
One of the main reasons we see an increase in productivity and efficiency is the ease of accessibility to business and productivity apps. People use apps to streamline their personal lives, and that brings an innate ability for apps to also play a big role in business.In fact, 77 percent of work smartphones support business and productivity apps.
Since many C-suite executives are seeing the benefits, 17 percent more businesses are expected to join in the mobile workforce trend. This trend will almost ensure that all employer-backed mobile devices fully support business and productivity apps.Supported software will include a mix of custom company-built applications, third-party business applications, and more common productivity apps for iOS and Android devices.
Enterprise goals are always a topic of discussion in every monthly board meeting. So are intuitive ways to achieve those goals, which workforce mobile devices do. Enterprise goals, such as improved collaboration between teams and clients, as well as increased response times can be easily achieved via smartphones.Employee smartphones allow for . . .
The benefits of company mobile devices are pretty clear for employers and employees alike. But what about the type of device an employee should have?
Before we jump into mobile security issues and implementation plans for employee mobile devices, it’s important to discuss the difference between employer-owned devices and BYOD smartphones.Every business wants to protect their data, as well as the data of their clients or customers. This has placed emphasis on the type of device businesses should (or shouldn’t) provide.Currently, only 27 percent of businesses provide their employees with mobile devices. The rest of the smartphones used in the workplace are already owned by the employees.
There are a few benefits of employee-owned, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) company programs.
This is a big one for any employee. If your employees are Apple iPhone fans, than they will naturally prefer an iPhone to be more productive with. They are familiar with the operating system, and they don’t need to learn a new one if you provide them with an Android device. Employees also don’t want to carry around two smartphones!
Not all businesses, if any, are going to splurge on an iPhone X or Samsung 8. This means that employer owned devices can be a bit behind the tech curve. BYOD smartphones have more ability to contain up-to-date technology, which means access to more apps, and faster operating systems.
Issuing mobile devices to your workforce can be quite costly. Employers have found it more cost-effective to simply chip in on employee cell phone bills, or cover a percentage of home internet fees. According to the study, 77 percent of smartphone users pay their own bill.
Not having a BYOD program could extend issues to the IT department as well. If something goes wrong with an employer-owned device, employees will turn to IT for a solution, rather than a network provider. This can also slow productivity if help desk tickets overwhelm IT.That said, we can take into account the many benefits of BYOD programs, but mobile security issues might better be solved with in-house device programs.
Did you know that cyber crime could cost businesses $6 trillion by 2021? What is most vulnerable? Mobile devices.According to the Harvard Business Review, “Mobile devices are one of the weakest links in corporate security. Executives are wrestling with managing a proliferation of devices, protecting data, securing networks, and training employees to take security seriously.”This makes BYOD devices particularly vulnerable, since employers don’t have control over the non-work related things happening on them. Detection of malicious attacks don’t always happen immediately.The average time a hacker has access to a device before being caught is 99 days, according to FireEye M-Trends 2017 report. Cyber attacks can cost a single business up to $9.5 million annually.Other cyber crime costs include . . .
The statistics are pretty clear. But what of the mobile security risks that present the most issues?
Malware is a big threat to mobile security. BYOD smartphones can be more susceptible to malware and malicious code due to the personal use aspect. If a mobile user interacts with a spam ad, typically found on social media sites, the malware could pose a security risk to company data.Ransomware, which can lock up mobile data, can be a big threat. A multi-governmental agency report found that ransomware attacks happened at a rate of 4,000 per day in 2016.According to research from Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, 78 percent of mobile users said they are aware of the phishing schemes via emails, yet 45 percent still click on the emails.
Similar to PC browser attacks, mobile security can be compromised via SMS and MMS. Hackers can use SMS and MMS to get control of a mobile device to access data, or to issue a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.Leading the way in distribution of DDoS attacks is China, but they have seen a decline in attacks in the past year. The United States ranks as the third most susceptible country to DDoS attacks, with a four percent increase in the last year.
Smartphones come equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, making them susceptible to hacking schemes. Wi-Fi hacking and Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attacks are routine and not all that difficult for a hacker.Hackers can find weaknesses in Wi-Fi networks to collect the data being transmitted. If a mobile employee uses an internet hotspot to login to the company network, they are putting mobile security at risk.In fact, 41 percent of Android smartphones are at risk for Wi-Fi attacks due to weaknesses in WPA2. This might make any employee with an Android BYOD on a Wi-Fi network a potential mobile security risk.
One of the biggest threats to mobile security are actually employees. Many people are not aware of the security risks that come with mobile use for work. They may also be unaware of the security measures needed to protect their devices from cyber criminals.Misusing cloud services via mobile apps is also an issue. When it comes to company data, these applications can cause leaks that a company may not even know about, until it’s too late.Gartner Research recently found that 95 percent of cloud security problems are because of customers, rather than cloud service providers.According to Gartner, “The naive belief that cloud providers are entirely responsible for their customers’ security means that many enterprises are failing to address how their employees use external applications, leaving them free to share huge amounts of often-inappropriate data with other employees, external parties and sometimes the entire Internet.”And, of course, there are always disgruntled employees with ill intentions. Employees who have cut ties with a company may have company data on their mobile devices.
Deciding if a company mobile device program is worth the risk really comes down to security protocols. Many security breaches and other issues can be avoided. For instance, having an employer-owned device in the hands of employees can offer more control over device use.BYOD programs carry the benefit of better device technology, and lower initial costs to businesses. They also carry a higher risk for mobile security breaches, which can be more costly in the long run than company-owned device program.Either way, mobile security measures are the most important facet of the program for companies to consider.To hammer home the point, we found that the rate of successful ransomware infections for businesses in 2016 was 71 percent, according to Barkly.
Only 52 percent of organizations that suffered a cyber attack in 2016 did not change their mobile security protocols in 2017.
Last year, increased IT security was highlighted in company expenditures. 38 percent of companies that experienced a cyber attack increased IT security budgets.
Businesses with mobile device programs, whether BYOD or employer-owned, can definitely increase productivity, efficiency, employee satisfaction, and revenue. The key is to develop a mobile security plan to ensure your company and client data remains secure.Here are a few ways to make mobile security a priority:
Mobile security is essential to any business, especially since mobile device use in the workplace has become the norm. You may not be able to ignore the need for a mobile workforce forever, and having mobile device best practices in place can help keep your company safe from cyber attacks, malware, and other malicious attacks.Give your employees the tools to be more productive, helping you meet your business goals. But also educate them on the risks of using those valuable tools. How can mobile device use improve your business, and what practices can you use to keep them secure?
