Have you ever thought about what business data is on your employee’s personal equipment that they use for work? Have you considered the consequences of that data falling into unauthorized hands?

Did you know that mobile devices have come to the attention of cyber criminals as the perfect piece of property to exploit for their own gain? Often a mobile device has all your business contacts, emails and other intellectual property, which in the wrong hands could spell doom for you and your team.

As mobile devices embed themselves more and more into our personal and professional lives, a diligent executive needs to consider these questions.

 Consider all the business and personal transactions you do on your mobile device and home computer. Those tasks are increasingly becoming a hybrid of both business and personal activities. This trend is increasing in popularity among cash tight businesses that don’t have the budget to purchase and manage employee’s mobile devices and home computers.



The convenience we all see in bringing our devices to work needs to be balanced with their potential risks. Employees see convenience, some managers see increased productivity without increased cost, while others see employees squandering time on personal surfing. IT specialists see viruses and other bugs that get into computer networks through both personal and business devices every day, and deal with dead devices that aren’t backed up completely and correctly.



The problem with BYOD or "Bring Your Own Device" is that consumer products like smartphones, laptops and tablet computers were not designed for business usage off the shelf. They require aftermarket security considerations like testing, secure firewalls, encryption, and controls on sending company data out of the network. Given the absence of antivirus software, proper patching, upgrades and backup solutions, working on personal devices is an accident waiting to happen.



Consider these things before using personal devices or consumer software in the workplace:



• Software and hardware needs to be vetted before being introduced into the business environment. Consumer product vendors are less likely to patch security problems quickly.


• We continue to see an increase in the exploitation of vulnerabilities in computers and mobile devices over the last year.



• Smartphones and tablets are easily stolen or lost and often not everything is backed up.  If home computers are being backed up it is with consumer grade backup solutions which are not as reliable and secure as business grade vendors with monitoring.

• All of the apps made available in your mobile device app store are not ready for consumer or business usage. Malicious software can find its way onto your hardware through seemingly benign software downloaded from these app stores.

 Technology can be tricky to keep up with. Best usage practices and security are the best way to protect your information and productivity.