Are personal devices putting your organisation at risk?

Does your organisation allow employees to 'bring your own device(s)' (BYOD)?

Years ago, the trend shifted from strictly company-issued devices to allowing employees to BYOD.

The motivation was simply convenience. With a surge in smartphones and devices, it seemed an easier choice for organisations to just allow users to use their own devices rather than issuing company ones for all staff.

That trend is now reversing, and the main reason is the security and control of company data.

Simply put, there just isn't an easy way to completely secure access to company data for employees using personal devices.

We currently provide clients with recommendations on how users can improve security when accessing company information, but they are simply recommendations, and without having control over those devices, you're putting the organisation at risk.

The issue for those organisations that have allowed BYOD, is the cost and project scale involved in replacing all personal devices with company-issued ones.

For those that use an offshore team, it's also commonplace to allow them to use personal devices.

Microsoft released Windows 365 not too long ago, which delivers a full, personalised PC experience from the cloud to any device, giving workers and organisations power, simplicity and security for hybrid work.

This adds to the already existing Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktops (AVDs) which are a bit more complex to set up and configure but are better suited if you have a larger team and wish to pool resources and save costs.

Either of these solutions is a great way of addressing BYODs in organisations and the associated cyber security dilemma, reducing the risk and improving cyber intelligence.