The idea of being able to work with your own devices is very appealing to employees across the globe. People have favorite brands, platforms, designs, and personal tastes that all go into what kind of computer, tablet, and phone they buy. Yet, it’s likely they have to work with technology that doesn’t match with their preferences in their workplace. People who love Macs have to learn PCs and vice versa. People might have to use a company phone that is an Android when they prefer an iPhone.
People want to be able to use their own devices in the workplace and allowing employees to do so benefits business owners too. For every employee who brings their own laptop or phone, that’s one less expense the company needs to cover. The biggest obstacle facing bring your own device offices, though, is security.
Security Threats in Your Office
A big part of keeping your business secure is understanding how malware spreads in an office. With this information, you can instate procedures and security software to prevent that spread.
One of the most popular tools in spreading malware is emails, and nearly every workplace relies heavily on email to function. Most malware is disguised as an attachment of some kind that a person downloads to their device, from which the malware takes control.
Then, if it’s part of its programming, the malware tries to spread by either taking control of a person’s email completely and sending itself to everybody it can, or it will try to slip into an email that person is sending already.
Another major way malware spreads in an office is through its Wi-Fi network. Let’s say somebody has a compromised laptop they bring to work and connect to your network. The virus in the laptop could possibly see other devices connected to the Wi-Fi and identify potential weaknesses. Then, it could jump between devices, infecting them and spreading until every unsecured device is compromised.
A final security issue for businesses is hackers trying to breach your security in order to steal information. This information could include personal information for your customers, like credit card numbers and such, or trade secrets you don’t want to get released. They try to gain access to this information, either by targeting a person with access with malware or by forcing their way in by using security flaws in your system.
Require Security Software on Devices
If you are going to implement a BYOD policy, you need to require security software on any device that is going to be used for work. That includes laptops, tablets, phone, or anything else that could be used to access important accounts or information.
Now, the level of security you are going to require is up to you. If you want everybody to have a specific type of security or software, it’s best if you pay for it to be installed on their devices. That way, it’s not an extra burden on your workers. If they already have that level of security on their device, then that’s great, but if not, upgrade it for them.
Remember that the more security you have on every device, the less danger you are in of picking up malware and having security breaches.
Teach Good Practices
A large part of preventing any kind of malware or cyber attack is having aware employees. They need to know what signs to watch out for, what to do with suspicious emails, and proper protocol to prevent cyber attacks. If a person has access to sensitive information and an email, they are a potential target.
First, teach your employees to never open emails from strangers, especially ones they haven’t asked for or are expected. Email is the most common method of spreading malware, and your employees need to be suspicious of their inboxes.
This doesn’t just include strangers, though. If one employee’s inbox becomes infected with malware and they are tricked, it is possible that the malware will send emails to everybody in their address book in an attempt to further spread itself. So, even if somebody you know at the company sends a strange email, your employees should know not to open it without getting in touch with the sender.
Another good habit to teach is to never plug in a strange or unfamiliar USB storage device. While this seems like common sense, people make mistakes and infect their own devices in this way. Even a worker at the U.S. Pentagon has fallen prey to this tactic, leading to a massive cyber attack back in 2008.
Other common best practices include things like keeping security software up to date, creating strong passwords, having unique security questions, not giving out personal information, having high privacy settings on social media, and knowing what to do if a device is stolen.
BYOD and Remote Workers
It’s also becoming a very common practice for companies to give their workers flexibility to do their jobs outside of the office. The reasons behind this choice varies between businesses, but many employees are wanting this choice from their employers.
So, now the problem of security increases. Not only do you have to make sure their device is secure, but that they also work in secure locations. That includes transmitting on secure networks and lowering the risk of information being stolen while employees are out in the world. Public Wi-Fi networks are easy targets to be filled with malware and potential snooping. If your worker is on a non-encrypted site on public Wi-Fi, other people, with the right tools, could snoop on what they are looking at. If your workers are going to commonly use public Wi-Fi, like those found in coffee houses, invest in a VPN and teach them how to identify encrypted versus unencrypted sites.
Another fear comes from being out in public with devices that store precious data. What do you have planned if a device gets stolen? While it would fall to your employee to replace their own device, you need to have plans in place to prevent people from accessing the information. That can include heavy security and passwords, and software that lets you wipe the device’s data remotely.
Be Safe, Stay Up to Date
If you are going to have a BYOD office, you might be saving money, but it will require extra work in order to stay secure. You will need to implement new policies, add extra layers of security, and plan for extra eventualities. Teach your employees on how to stay safe, put in the extra work to keep all of the devices secure and make policies on how to stay safe.
