Your 3-point checklist for a BYOD policy

Smartphones, tablets, laptops — these devices keep your employees mobile and allow them to share documents, browse the internet, and communicate with each other when they’re on the go.

But there’s a tiny problem with this.

Mobility — and the connected devices that enable this mobility — pose a security risk to your business. However, when you implement a bring your own device (BYOD) policy, you can prevent malware from spreading and protect your valuable data in the process.

Here’s a good place to start.

Talk to your employees about your BYOD policy

Face it, your employees probably don’t care about network security in the workplace. Security management is your problem, not theirs. While this is true, it’s important to explain the benefits of your BYOD policy to your staff and reinforce the value of it.

You might want to include your BYOD policy in your monthly internal newsletter or send it out in a company-wide email. You could even tack it to the wall in the break room.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you at least do something. The more you work security (in general) into your company culture, the more likely it is your company will remain secure.

Lay down the rules

There are so many risks associated with BYOD. For example, employees who bring their laptops to work might not have the proper antivirus software installed. As a result, hackers can access sensitive information on those devices or spread malware to other networked computers.

This is just one of many reasons why you need a BYOD policy.

“Although BYOD can boost your work environment, this policy can open the door to new risks and exposures,” says HuffPost. “To avoid these risks, businesses must understand what they entail and how they can provide an extra layer of protection to secure critical data.”

Here are some of the things you might want to include in your BYOD policy:

• Create password protection for all devices in your workplace

• Create user permissions for software, so only authorized employees can access sensitive data

• Encourage your staff to lock their devices when they’re not using them

• Ask employees to delete sensitive data from their devices when they leave your company

Use a managed service provider

Creating a BYOD policy is a challenge. You need to cover all the bases and include rules and regulations that will optimize your network security. A managed service provider (MSP) can help you create a policy that’s tailor-made for your business.

“Managed service providers monitor, supervise and secure outsourced network or application procedures on behalf of the organizations that are using those services,” says TechoPedia. “MSPs have specialized infrastructure, human resources and industry certifications, and they provide 24/7 monitoring and provisioning of additional services for their clientele.”

Companies of all sizes are implementing BYOD policies in the workplace, so they can successfully protect their networks, systems, and data. It’s no wonder, then, that the BYOD market will be worth nearly $367 billion by the year 2022 — up from $30 billion in 2014.

If you’d like to learn more about security in the workplace, check out our managed security services.