Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
How to Keep Business Data Safe on Mobile Devices
Friday, January 27, 2012 by Michelle Hartley
Everywhere you turn it seems people are on their cell phones --
chatting, texting, Facebooking, and playing Angry Birds. While the
vast majority of people use their cell phones for personal reasons,
more and more employees are using them to conduct work on the
go.
As much as this might improve efficiency, the lingering question
still stands: is your company's sensitive data safe on your
employee's mobile devices? While your office setup may have
firewalls strong enough to repel the cleverest hacker, cell phones
are often not given the same type of security. Additionally,
according to a study done by Dimensional Research, the highest
ranked factor that impacts the security of mobile data is the lack
of employee awareness about security policies.
To prevent your company from losing any business-sensitive data,
check out our tips below to educate employees on how to protect
themselves (and your company) from losing important business
information.
Report Anything Suspicious
Employees should be educated on how to recognize a suspicious
message or email. Then, if they receive something that may be an
attempt to compromise business data, they know to report it to your
IT department/personnel. It is also important for employees to
recognize that much of their personal information is also held
within their phone, and by taking the precaution to report anything
suspicious, they can ensure that both business and personal
information are safe.
Limit What Is Stored on the Device
Business-sensitive data such as passwords and account numbers
should never be stored on mobile devices -- especially in the form
of memos, text messages, or tasks. In the event that the device is
stolen or lost, this sensitive data can easily be obtained and used
before your company even knows that the device was lost.
Additionally, when a person quits, is fired, or laid off they keep
their phone. Therefore, it is important for a company's safety to
limit the amount of information each employee is allowed to store
on their phone.
Inform and Enforce Data Security on Mobile Device Policies
Some of the simplest policies, like having a security password
and a timeout for the device, are important to enforce with
employees. If you have high security data, the precaution of
setting the device to wipe clean after a certain number of
incorrect passwords might be necessary. To make all of your
specific policies known to your employees, ensure each new employee
is informed when they begin their employment and that everyone is
able to access the information quickly and easily.
If you need help managing your company's business-sensitive
data, feel free to contact us at 773-241-3007.
Until next time -
Michelle Hartley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support &
Consulting
DC IT Support &
Consulting
Outsourced Marketing Services
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