Bring Your Own Device and Security

As the trend of bring your own device (BYOD) continues to gain traction in the corporate world, the education arena, colleges and universities especially, have been dealing with this concept for years. Their experiences can certainly lend ideas to the business world in securing the devices and the network.

• The following are some ideas and suggestions to insure a safe BYOD environment:
• Limit the types of devices allowed. Instead of trying to have the IT group support everything under the sun, provide guideless to employees on the types of devices that will be supported under a BYOD policy.
• Register the devices MAC address and/or NetBIOS name.  Instead of making this a burden on the IT staff, put up a website on the intranet with very detailed instructions and require end users to register and secure their devices.  
• Require up to date virus protection software. Most companies purchase bulk licenses for anti-virus programs and requiring end users to have the latest versions on their devices is an important aspect of security.  
• Require users to set passwords / lock screens or hard drive encryption, if applicable, on devices to insure that a lost or stolen machine will not result in the access of potentially secure data. 
• Shut access off immediately upon termination. Make sure that when an employee leaves, their network accounts are disabled and email accounts are locked immediately. Removing the device profile is also important to prevent access to company wireless networks.

The reasons for getting in on the BYOD trend are numerous and provide a definite benefit to the company, including:

• Lowering hardware costs. Employees bring their device and are responsible for any upgrades or maintenance on their devices.
• Lower software costs. Corporations are no longer on the hook for massively time consuming and expensive OS rollouts. 
• Encourages work after hours.  Employees are more likely to check email or perform other work if the ability to access the information available on their personal devices.

In general, the BYOD trend is here to stay and will likely escalate as tablets, smartphones and other devices perform more like the desktops of old. For more information on setting up a system to ease the transfer from corporate devices to company owned, please visit our website
.