BYOD Security Risks: Tips to Protect Your Business

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) systems let employees work on personal devices instead of company-owned ones.   

BYOD can help your business save money, accommodate employees’ personal preferences, and facilitate remote working. However, there can also be serious security risks involved. Implementing BYOD requires installing systems and security measures to protect your sensitive information.  

Bring Your Own Device risks  

Some problems that come with BYOD include:  

• Impacted productivity and an improper work-life balance due to employees using the same device for both personal and business purposes.   

• Unfairness between employees who can afford different devices and models  

• Limited collaboration between different operating systems  

However, the most important BYOD risks come from the limited security protection on these devices compared to company-owned ones.   

On personal devices, it can be hard to ensure employees keep their systems up to date. It can also be hard to ensure they use a secure firewall. They must avoid downloading viruses or suspicious apps, and more. Either maliciously or accidentally, employees could share sensitive company data or leave the company without transferring important documents/financial information.  

How to mitigate BYOD risks  

Educate employees first to reduce BYOD security risks. Teach them to protect devices and spot cyber-attacks. Inform employees on your security policy and the steps they need to take to protect company data on personal devices.  

If they fail to follow these rules, they will need to use company devices instead. Otherwise, it could cause a serious data breach or attack.  

Your IT team should install mobile device management (MDM) systems on employee devices. These systems let them reset passwords and wipe data for protection.   

Create a list of device types and models and systems that your company can support. If an employee does not have a personal device that meets these requirements, provide a company-issued device.   

It may be best for employees or directors who manage highly sensitive company data to exclusively use company devices. This means your IT team can protect your business from cyber-attacks as much as possible.   

Cyber or security threats can be detrimental and implementing strong security measures is crucial to protect your business. At dbfb, we offer comprehensive business security systems. To learn more, call our team on 01604 673320 or email us at discover@dbfb.co.uk.