Banks and others accounting for BYOD

Banks and credit unions, like many other non-financial organizations, are quickly realizing the benefits of implementing bring your own device (BYOD), primarily because of the many benefits that BYOD provides both the organization and its employees. Of course, a main benefit that financial institutions see from implementing BYOD is lower costs associated with purchasing a large number of computers or tablets. Employees are able to bring and use their own devices and register them with the company’s network.

Most of this kind of technology is current only for a short period of time and then becomes obsolete, in need of replacement or vulnerable to attack because of out of date operating systems and software. By allowing employees to bring and use their own devices in the workplace, they are able to ensure their own technology is up to date without the organization constantly incurring the costs for new devices and upgrades. An additional benefit is that end users are most comfortable with using their own devices—which can translate to more efficient workers—and saves financial institutions from the need to provide any user or system training.

Though BYOD may lower costs of technology and increase productivity (that’s always been the BYOD argument), if not implemented correctly a BYOD program can easily turn into a mess of a headache for information technology, human resources and other departments because of security issues, which result in higher costs and vulnerabilities to organizations and can lead to an increase of internal time and support resources.

When BYOD is first implemented, IT must establish how it will address the influx of new devices being used within the company’s network. Of course, this can be extremely time consuming since each device has to be added to the network manually. This also affects HR since they’ll be in charge of managing the provisioning and user account set up for each of these devices.

If not handled correctly, BYOD can lead to numerous security risks. Since the employee owns the device, once they leave the organization they keep their device, allowing them to potentially continue accessing company data. Companies need to ensure that when an employee leaves they no longer have access to the organization’s network and data, simple as that.

Because of these potential issues, one of the most important success factors often discussed about implementing BYOD is setting rules and criteria for employees using their own devices. By establishing a policy from the beginning, employees will know exactly what is expected from them, alleviating the confusion about what is expected if they participate in the program. This also allows the organization to define any repercussions should employees misuse or take advantage of the use of the BYOD policy, as well as establish guidelines for how IT and HR should handle BYOD devices.

That said the following are the bare minimum criterion that should be placed in any BYOD policy.

Set guidelines for the types of devices allowed
One of the top issues with BYOD is that there are many different types, brands and operating systems for the multitude of devices that have flooded the market. When employees register their device with the company, they then expect the IT department to support it and resolve any issues with it, which can result in a technical nightmare. Each bank, credit union or financial institution needs to determine from the outset which types and brands of devices are going to be supported.

Establish a process for disabling users
Allowing employees to use their own devices can lead to a security risk once the employee is no longer with the company. Organizations need a system in place to ensure that once the employee leaves, their account is automatically disabled. Many credit unions and banks use an automated account management solution that allows managers to easily disable the user from all systems and applications with just one click, ensuring that the network stays secure.

Security for compliance and audit needs
It is important that the organization ensures that BYOD also meets audit and compliance needs. The organization needs a system for recording any actions and keeping access records. Identity and access management solutions can help the organization ensure that its device users only have access to the systems and applications they are supposed to. This information can then also be easily accessed when it comes to audit time.

By properly ensuring the BYOD policy for the organization and end user from the beginning, banks and credit unions can hopefully avoid the many issues that can occur along the way. This allows them to receive the full benefits of implementing BYOD at their organization.

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