BYOD Policy – New Report Says Think Twice!

BYOD Policy (Bring Your Own Device) is one of the critically important
points in ensuring fully adequate and compliant corporate data security

The statistics bring sobering news. Almost one in two company’s mobile devices gets stolen. For the ITC Infotech this is more than enough to conclude that ignoring solid BYOD Policy means leaving an open door to potential security data breaches in the future.

According to the most recent Samsung research, in the UK alone 47% of the interviewed companies reported that a work handset has been lost or stolen during the last year. As a direct consequence, we see 38% of companies are determined to adopt solid BYOD Policy by 2016.

 “Laptops, mobiles and tablets can cost many hundreds of pounds per year for each employee, so BYOD has become very attractive. However, far from enjoying flexibility and lower costs, companies that rush into BYOD without a strong policy face considerable risks,” comments Hardeep Singh Garewal of  ITC Infotech.

Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, McAfee was able to identify an unprecedented mobile theft epidemic in the UK where more than 15,000 mobile phones fell into the wrong hands in 2013 alone. Only 7% were able to find their way home. Tablets and laptops also couldn’t avoid this unfortunate fate.

The situation can be extremely complex in this field. On the one side, some companies tend to delete all personal data when adjusting a device for security purposes. This increases the chances for unwanted legal actions. On the other side, there are so many unreported BYOD devices with remote access they constitute a serious jeopardy for a company’s sensitive data.

Choose Your Own Device Policy or the CYOD can be a compromising solution. With it you can have a win-win situation for both security and personal information concerns.

Garewal adds: “While CYOD means the company must ultimately foot the bill for the device overhead and support, the level of control and assured visibility vastly simplifies issues around privacy and security. However, whether they use BYOD or CYOD, companies encouraging flexible working must ensure they are prepared to deal with imminent risks, or spend all of their time fire-fighting to avoid major crises.”

It goes without saying that a solid BYOD policy shouldn’t stand alone. Without the appropriate and complementary MDM (Mobile Device Management) Policy the risks of a devastating data breach can still be high and unacceptable.

A suitable BYOD policy can be an invaluable security ally for any company. However, the ITC Infotech President for EU Operations Hardeep Singh Garewal strongly advises you not to rush into BYOD policy without sufficient forethought. For Garewal it is unacceptable to go on with an unnecessary risk of complete security catastrophe triggered by a stolen mobile device.

Last but not least, every company faces an additional major risk without a clear BYOD policy in this field. If there is no fully transparent border line between personal and corporate functions associated with a BYOD device, it is only a matter of time before a company faces a legal action because of deleted or compromised personal data.

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