Protect Your Mobile Workers against Common Cyber Threats

The increasing use of smartphones and the advanced capabilities that these devices come with have improved how companies conduct their businesses. BYOD has become popular among enterprises, and that has brought about more security issues to worry about. Having employees use personal smartphones or tablets for business exposes an organisation to various risks that it must guard against.

With the 2018 Mobile Security Report predicting that 2020 will see the rate of mobile workers grow to 1.75 billion, it is necessary for companies to develop and execute solid mobile security strategies. 

Increased Mobile Security Threats

Mobile devices have become favorites for hackers and other cybercriminals due to their increased vulnerability. Most people have multi-layered security protocols for their desktops and laptops but don’t do very much to protect their smartphones and tablets. They are not keen on software updates or strong passwords. This laxity has opened opportunities for criminals to capitalise on. Users of mobile devices have several apps on their devices, which provide more than a few platforms that hackers can exploit. These apps capture a wealth of information that is a goldmine for cybercriminals.

Possible Security Measures

To protect the security of data of personal mobile devices of employees, a company should have distinct policies that separate corporate and personal information. Users should have authentication measures for their mobile devices to ensure that only authorised individuals have access to them.

Companies should establish protocols that guard devices against malware and other security threats. Employees should install virus protection and block websites with unverified security certificates. Enterprises should put in place policies for protecting the data stored in the cloud as well. On-premise protections are not sufficient. Any information that has been backed up to the cloud should remain safe at all times. Banning Wi-Fi hotspots usage is another measure that businesses have taken to protect their mobile workers.

Mobile workers are necessary in this age, and CIOs must develop security strategies that factor the use of personal devices.