As remote work continues to be a popular offering for many organisations, some employees have begun taking advantage of their own smart devices—such as smartphones or tablets—for work-related purposes.

While this practice can certainly help employees expand their remote work capabilities, utilising smart devices within a work setting can lead to elevated cyber-security risks. This is because your employees’ smart devices may not be initially equipped with the security measures necessary to defend against cyber-criminals, thus increasing the likelihood of a cyber-attack taking place.

Don’t let employees’ smart devices lead to a cyber-security disaster within your organisation. Utilise the following guidance to promote smart device security:

• Establish a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that includes standards employees must uphold when using their smart devices for work-related purposes.
• Have employees create complex passwords for their smart devices. Encourage staff to enable multifactor authentication on their devices, if possible.
• Restrict employees from connecting to public Wi-Fi networks on their smart devices. Be sure to establish a virtual private network for staff to use to ensure a safe, secure connection.
• Have employees conduct routine software updates on their smart devices to prevent potential security gaps.

For more cyber-security best practices, contact us today.

Contains public sector information published by the ICO and NCSC and licensed under the Open Government Licence.

The content of this blog is of general interest and is not intended to apply to specific circumstances or jurisdiction. It does not purport to be a comprehensive analysis of all matters relevant to its subject matter. The content should not, therefore, be regarded as constituting legal advice and not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem which they may have, readers are advised to seek specific advice from their own legal counsel. Further, the law may have changed since first publication and the reader is cautioned accordingly. Content by Zywave, Inc. provided by TH March.