The BYOD Problem

March 31, 2017 / G C Network / Comments Off

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Leading Federal Integrators Address Tactical Cloud Computing

By G C Network | October 7, 2009

Yesterday during the first annual Government IT Conference and Expo, tactical cloud computing was cited as a critical component within this new paradigm. Joining me to address the issue were:…

Carpathia Creates Government Solutions Business Unit

By G C Network | October 6, 2009

In a strong statement of focus, Carpathia Hosting has announced the formation of Carpathia Government Solutions, a unit dedicated to providing solutions specifically for federal civilian and defense agencies. This…

INPUT FedFocus 2010

By G C Network | September 30, 2009

Please join me at the 7th Annual FedFocus Conference, November 5, 2009, at the Ritz Carlton in McLean, VA. This conference has been designed to provide crucial information on upcoming…

Dataline, Lockheed Martin, SAIC, Unisys on Tactical Cloud Computing

By G C Network | September 25, 2009

I’m proud to announce that representatives from Lockheed Martin, SAIC, and Unisys will join me in a Tactical Cloud Computing “Power Panel” at SYS-CON’s 1st Annual Government IT Conference &…

GSA, DoD and NCOIC to Collaborate on Government Cloud Computing

By G C Network | September 22, 2009

Yesterday, during the NCOIC Cloud Computing Workshop, collaboration seemed to be the focus as Katie Lewin, GSA Cloud Computing Initiative Program manager, and Dan Risacher, DoD Cloud Computing Storefront project…

FederalNewsRadio Highlights Government Cloud Computing

By G C Network | September 20, 2009

Last week’s Apps.gov announcement was the latest steps in the government’s “at the quick step” march into cloud computing. FederalNewsRadio, a Washington metro area media fixture, highlighted the event with…

NCOIC Officially Launches Cloud Computing Working Group

By G C Network | September 14, 2009

On Wednesday, 9 September 2009 the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) Technical Council formally approved the creation of a Cloud Computing Working Group (CCWG). Organizationally this new working group…

1 Billion Mobile Cloud Computing Subscribers !!

By G C Network | September 10, 2009

Yes. That’s what I said! A recent EDL Consulting article cites the rising popularity of smartphones and other advanced mobile devices as the driving force behind a skyrocketing mobile cloud…

NCOIC Holding Full-Day Cloud Computing Workshop

By G C Network | September 4, 2009

The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium will be holding an all day Cloud Computing Workshop on September 21, 2009 in Fairfax, VA. Open to the public, this workshop will focus…

Pentagon Reviews Unisys Stealth

By G C Network | August 31, 2009

According to a Newtworkworld.com article, the United States Joint Forces Command (USJFC) is currently evaluating Unisys Stealth technology at the Joint Transformation Command for Intelligence (JTC-I) in Suffolk, Virginia. “Unisys…

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Everyone wants their device of choice right there next to them 24/7. To an employer, however, that smart device is nothing more than a dagger posed to rip apart every shred of corporate security. This reality of modern business was highlighted by the Information Security Community on LinkedIn through their 2016 Spotlight Report on “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD). The key trends influencing enterprise BYOD and mobile security line up as follows:

Increased employee mobility (63%), satisfaction (56%) and productivity (55%) dominate as the top drivers of BYOD. These employee related drivers are considered more important than reduced costs (47%).
Security (39%) and employee privacy (12%) are the biggest inhibitors of BYOD adoption.
20% of surveyed organizations have suffered a mobile security breach, primarily driven by malware and malicious WiFi.
Security threats to BYOD impose heavy burdens on organizations’ IT resources (35%) and help desk workloads (27%).
Despite increasing mobile security threats, data breaches and new regulations, only 30% of organizations are increasing security budgets for BYOD in the next 12 months and 37% have no plans to change their security budgets.

These trends clearly highlight the need for enhanced data and application security in enterprise mobility and cloud computing. They also reinforce the burden of securing data, applications, and devices that is being placed on the employer. Looking solely from the employer’s point of view, the report also summarized the mobility security concerns as follows:

72% – Data leakage/loss
56% – Unauthorized access to company data and systems
54% – Downloading of unsafe apps or content
52% – Malware
50% – Lost or stolen devices
49% – Vulnerability exploitation
48% – Lack of control on endpoint security
39% – Infrequent software updates
38% – Compliance

These findings indicate that enterprise mobility is a very dangerous threat vector that can be ruinous to any business. Unmanaged or ungoverned use of devices can lead to loss of customers, loss of sales, and costly legal and financial fines. This truth led IBM to offer the following Ten Rules for BYOD:

1. Create your policy before procuring technology: To effectively use mobile device management (MDM) technology for employee owned devices Policy must precede technology. Also note that these policies will have broad corporate-wide implications for IT, HR, legal, and security.

2. Find the devices that are accessing corporate resources: Companies must completely understand the current landscape of mobile device usage. Doing this will require using a tool that can communicate continuously with your network environment and detect all connected devices connected.

3. BYOD Enrollment for employees should be simple: Complexity tends to breed non-compliance. To address this issue, the BYOD program should use technology that allows for a simple, low touch way for users to enroll. The process should also concurrently configure the newly enrolled device.

4. Configure your devices over-the-air: To optimize efficiency for both IT and business users, devices should be configured over-the-air. Policies to restrict access to certain applications should also be in-place.

5. Help your users help themselves: A robust self-service platform that lets users perform the following functions should be made available:

· PIN and password resets

· Geo-locate a lost device from a web portal

· Remote wiping of sensitive corporate data

6. Keep personal information private: A well-crafted BYOD program keeps personal employee data away from others. Communicate the privacy policy to employees and make it clear what data cannot collect from their mobile devices

7. Keep personal information separate from corporate data: Corporate apps, documents, and other materials must be protected if the employee decides to leave the organization. Personal email, apps, and photos, however, should be left untouched.

8. Manage data usage: The organization should be able to track in network and roaming data usage on devices, generating warnings should a user goes over their data usage or stipend limit.

9. Continually monitor devices for noncompliance: Devices should be continuously monitored for certain scenarios, and automated policies should be in place. A few common issues are:

· “Jailbreaking” or “rooting” a phone

· Use of unapproved applications (like Angry Birds) that don’t rise to the level that requires an automatic wipe of the device

· Providing a simple way to be alerted when a new OS is ready for installation and making it a self-service function.

10. Enjoy the return on investment (ROI) from BYOD: Although BYOD shifts responsibility for purchasing devices to employees, it’s worth considering the big picture and long-term costs for your organization.

BYOD is now a corporate fact of life. If your environment includes traditional desktops and mobile devices, your organization may also need to consider working with a partner that has the specialized IT skills to migrate, integrate and maintain all types of IT network endpoints. IBM Mobile Virtualization Services should be considered as that partner in order to ease mobile user and application migration issues. Available services include: