Mobile workforce employees using company IT systems on the move may inadvertently be posing a risk to your company data that needs special attention. Something as simple as using web based or ‘Software as a Service’ apps, along with free hot spot services could accidentally be providing cyber criminals easy access to your confidential business data.
What are the issues with mobile worker security?
Simply speaking, the main weakness with your company’s cyber security is going to be your people. And for mobile workers this is especially true.
Cyber criminals will use many techniques to exploit your staff when they let their guard down – and in the case of remote workers, cloning public wireless networks or stealing remote login credentials are two of the most popular.
What can you do about it?
If, as a business you expect your staff to work remotely the first thing you must do is train them to do this safely. As a starter, you should have a policy or section in your staff handbook of what you as a business expect – your staff should be trained regularly on this. Secondly, you must train them to identify the threats – this could be via online training, a company training video or much better, face to face training sessions.
You can also provide tools to assist. In the instance of web-based company applications activating ‘multi factor authentication’ is a simple low-cost method to protect against the majority of common credential theft attacks.
The threat posed by public Wi-fi connections can be mitigated by using only secure connections for example a VPN connection. If in doubt, do not use the free Wi-fi and connect via your mobile phone instead.
Trends in mobile security
Research from Gartner predicts that by 2021, 27 percent of corporate data traffic will bypass traditional IT network security and will instead come from mobile and portable devices directly to the cloud.
Coupled with this is an increase in the trend of malware attacking smartphones and tablets – particularly Android devices.
With this in mind, mobiles and tablets will need to be treated in the same was as a business PC from a security perspective (do you currently use an 8-digit alphanumeric password on your phone?). This requires a different approach to that currently used by the majority of businesses.
The safest way to use mobiles and tablets in the workplace is to use a mobile management system which will control your mobile, the applications installed and how it handles company data in the same way your business IT systems manage your PCs.
For your individual business requirements, our experienced team at Pro Drive IT would be happy to discuss with you how to secure your business for GDPR security and compliance using cloud application platforms and Microsoft Office 365.
Call our Sales Team on 0330 124 3599 to find out more.
