Is BYOD a Solution or a growing Concern?

By Darshik Jariwala - March, 18th 2013

Gone are the days when you would have to rely on the desktop or laptop machines and the handheld devices that companies provided. That is not the case anymore. Although many companies still do provide, most of the people in the corporate world carry their own device. This trend is more commonly known as, BYOD, which stands for “Bring Your Own Device”.

The Solution

Every one carries either a Smart-Phone or a Laptop or a Tablet which allows them to access their company emails even when they are not within the company premises. The employee gets the company updates real-time and does not need to wait until the next day. Some devices also have the company’s proprietary applications installed which can also be accessed offline. The data can be synced as soon as the employee is connected to the company’s network.

Virtualization can be implemented on tablets and mobile devices as well which cold ensure that the communication between the device and company is safe and cannot be interfered with. However, virtualization is yet to be introduced to mobile computing.

The degree of ease and convenience that this provides results in improving the relationship between the employees and the company which eventually reflects in the client or customer satisfaction, and that is the ultimate goal.

 

The Concern

BYOD eliminates any control that the company previously had and is suppose to have over these devices, bacause naturally the utmost concern of the company is its data security. The company applications and data present over the employee’s device are highly confidential. There could be severe repercussions if ever the data is compromised.  Data security can be a serious concern if the employee leaves the company, as he would not have to submit his device. The employee can use the same data with the competing firm for personal gains.

The most common device that almost everyone carries is a Smart-Phone. Smart-Phone’s today is highly susceptible to various kinds of viruses which makes it a primary target. The attacker could modify the data or erase it completely. Smartphone can be easily stolen or it may just fall down and break before you could save or update your data.

BYOD might be easy for us to accept but the company might not necessarily feel the same. A lot of steps need to be taken to ensure the company rules and regulations are not violated. BYOD might have advantages but the issues related to the Information Security Management still remains a serious and growing concern for those who have adopted or are adopting it.

To understand more about what is BYOD, watch this video.

Photo Credit – Carlos Varela/Flickr