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Jaclyn T. Keown wrote a new post on the site MIS2101 – Spring 2015 9 years, 7 months ago
This article discusses the security issues surrounding the bring-your-own-device, or BYOD, trend in the workplace. The vice president of security services for the mobile business solutions team at AT&T claims that this trend is expected to reach its “inflection point” in 2015, as 2014 saw a huge increase in the use of these devices. People tend to be less concerned with security on their mobile devices than they would be using a traditional computer. These mobile devices are computers and need to be protected the same way. When employees do not take proper precautions, such as installing malware or firewalls, their employer’s information could be compromised.
Some questions to think about
1. Is it beneficial for an employer to allow the use of a BYOD? Do the benefits outweigh the potential risks?
2. Can sufficient precautions be taken to protect information, especially when it comes to certain fields, i.e. the medical field?
BYOD is a hot topic in IT and for organizations these days – great article Jaclyn. CIOs, IT professionals and organizations really do need to be concerned about what kind of devices are being linked with their networks and how employees are using them and accessing data. I am looking forward to hearing your comments on this one – it’s a very real issue faced today by corporations and a risk that needs to be managed.
http://www.scmagazineuk.com/trust-company-culture-and-byod-security/article/393267/
“….employees are already using their own devices at work, regardless of their businesses’ official policies on BYOD.”
You make a really good point regarding the threats of BYOD in the workplace. Similar to the medical field, my father is a civilian contractor with the government and deals with some sensitive information. At one point a few years ago, a virus infected their files from an employee’s personal laptop that was brought to work. Since then, they no longer have a bring your own device policy and are issued their own laptops and tablets. There are definitely issues that have yet to be addressed with BYOD especially with mobile devices.