Last Updated: September 28th, 2022
Nowadays, cyber-security risks are everywhere. For securing the safety and security of portable devices, business owners are increasingly turning to mobile-ready solutions. The workplace’s penchant for BYOD rules has resulted in a network of networked gadgets. While this has cost-cutting implications, it also creates the ideal environment for adware, malware, viruses, Trojans, hacks, and network vulnerabilities. The usage of enterprise-owned linked devices is intrinsically safer, but the expense is a huge deterrent. Employees can use their own mobile-ready cellphones, tablets, and personal computers with BYOD regulations in place. If due diligence is not performed, the company is at risk.
The following recommendations for improving employee mobile security are failsafe ways to protect against this risk while keeping operating costs low. For business owners, this enables expense reduction and profit maximization. Top Portable Antivirus Software To Use
Organizations Should Improve Mobile Security
1. Make it a priority to upgrade
According to the most recent NPD Connected Intelligence Mobile Connectivity Report, the typical upgrade cycle for smartphones in the United States is 32 months, or nearly three years. This represents how frequently users switch to a new device, and it’s up from 25 months the previous year. This cadence may be sufficient for people who simply use their smartphones for personal apps and content, but corporations must approach update decisions differently.
Setting minimal restrictions for the devices that are allowed to access corporate systems and apps is crucial in BYOD situations. Many devices stop receiving regular OS updates and security patches after three years, making them more vulnerable to new vulnerabilities.
2. Make MDM a regular part of your routine
Companies have always ensured that they can maintain track of the equipment they buy, but there’s a difference between monitoring what occurs on a stationary oil rig and a fleet of smartphones distributed to mobile workers.
While most businesses have adopted mobile device management (MDM), smaller businesses have plenty of reasons to investigate it as well. Companies that offer a bring your own device (BYOD) program yet want to ensure that staff devices aren’t vulnerable to security risks can benefit from MDM software. While selecting an MDM solution would necessitate some investigation, midsize businesses can get a jump start by ensuring that the devices they deploy or recommend to employees are secure from the chip on up.
3. Allow listing and block listing
Many security hazards reach businesses as a result of user errors, which are frequently honest mistakes. Employees may not know that by downloading an app, for example, they are basically allowing corporate data to be stolen from their smartphone. Allowing and blocking apps via MDM protects employees — and their employers — from these hazards by making it obvious which apps and websites are secure.
Blacklists provide peace of mind for IT teams by restricting access to specific programs and alerting them when an attempt is made. Allow lists, on the other hand, might be more effective in emphasizing the mobile tools that employees should prioritize above games and social media.
4. Biometrics and two-factor authentication
Weak and easily forgotten passwords make it easy for dangerous third parties to gain access to mobile devices. Small and midsized enterprises can easily start creating a tiered mobile security strategy with two-factor authentication.
While tokens have been used in two-factor authentication in the past, fingerprints and other biometric identifiers are swiftly gaining popularity. According to market research firm Gartner, 70 percent of organizations will employ biometrics for workforce access by 2022. Biometrics can be used in conjunction with the data separation methods covered later in this article.
5. Become accustomed to customizing
When new employees are hired, they aren’t normally given access to every filing cabinet, the company’s banking credentials, or other confidential information that requires a certain level of seniority or privilege. Similarly, giving every employee unrestricted access to all corporate apps and data is counterproductive.
IT administrators can avoid this problem by using solutions that allow them to configure mobile devices before they are distributed to their employees. Samsung’s Knox Configure, for example, allows businesses to build a variety of simple-use scenarios, ranging from modifying boot-up displays to creating dedicated-use devices that only run work-related apps.
6. Work and leisure should be kept separate
Companies often provide employees with a safe area to store personal goods until they are needed at the end of the day, even if they do not have a dedicated desk with their own drawers. Strong mobile security necessitates a similar approach to the partitioning of data and apps on the device.
Containerization, for example, permits smartphones to create discrete workspaces for business apps and materials that can be safeguarded and managed from a single location. Administrators don’t need access to an employee’s personal apps or data, so they can offer the best combination of freedom and security. This allows IT organizations to secure important company data while allowing employees to keep privacy.
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7. Make the process of updating easier
Companies are generating fixes that can be applied to mobile devices at the same time as new security risks are continually emerging. Unfortunately, this frequently places the responsibility on a company’s IT resources (which are often limited or spread thin in midsized businesses) to deploy all of the necessary updates regularly. There are various Antivirus software available for mobile devices, which include free and paid ones. Organizations can opt for Bitdefender mobile security or MacAfee mobile security.
Patch management is still one of the most regularly employed techniques for major corporations to tackle security risks, according to IDG’s 2019 Security Priorities Study, and smaller businesses should do the same.
8. Security awareness and user training
According to the IDG report, staff training is one of the top areas where companies fall short, with nearly a third of those surveyed (31%) citing it as one of the top areas where they fall short. The authors said, “This relates to the perennial dilemma of personnel as a security concern.” Training and security awareness should never be thought of as a one-time event, but rather as a continuous process.
Companies who succeed at this ensure that the content is simple to grasp and accessible through a variety of channels, depending on the customer’s preferences. Tips in an employee newsletter, an instructive film on a company intranet, or even push notifications delivered to all staff smartphones are all possible examples.
9. Look for a path that can be scaled
A minor business may not remain small indefinitely. A deliberate initiative to expand into a new market or region, an M&A, or some other tipping event can all result in rapid growth. The necessity for your workers to be provided with the greatest tools available to execute their jobs from wherever they are will remain constant.
Of course, setting and provisioning devices one by one is impossible for IT departments, so consider how you may use an MDM solution or comparable software to automate this process as the company grows.