BYOD Policy Up To Date | Timothy Dimoff National Speaker

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a standard that allows employees to use their devices for work. This practice has been increasing for the last several years but has been more the norm since the onset of COVID-19.

Why is BYOD so popular? The bottom line is because employees like and are familiar with their devices, and the company can save money by not dishing out funds for new computers. So it can be a win-win.

However, there are risks—loss of data, security issues, controls, monitoring, and privacy issues.

If you let them use their devices, standards must be met, and policies followed. Here are seven items that you may want to incorporate into your procedures.

7 Points to Include in Your Policy

Turn on user authentication. Ensure all devices have a screen lock and require two-factor authentication, a password, or PIN to gain entry into the system.
Update all operating systems as required. The easiest way for a hacker to gain entry into a device is through outdated software.
Public Wi-Fi systems are not allowed. Working at a coffee shop sounds excellent, but the use of their Wi-Fi should be prohibited because it’s easy to hack and the least secure. That goes for hotels, conference centers, and restaurants as well.
Outline the consequences of inappropriate activity or misuse of the company data on the BYOD equipment (e.g., disciplinary action up to and including termination).
If the device is stolen, you should be able to wipe the device remotely and lock it. Since only seven percent of all stolen devices are recovered, the sooner you have this solution in place, the better.
Ensure that all company data is replicated on a private cloud account and backed up regularly—also encrypt sensitive data.
Upon termination or quitting of an employee, have in place automatic lockout of the company data on their devices and the cloud.

Smartphones and mobile devices will continue to change how your organization does business and present future challenges in the workplace, so be sure to update your policies and practices regularly.