Taming Consumer Devices In Business

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The question of regulation and policing raises the issue of the 1992 Data Protection Act. If an employee steals data, they are breach of the Act and can face prosecution, but with the Act stating that “Appropriate technical and organisational security measures must be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss, destruction of, or damage to, personal data,” so too can the owners of that data.  As a result of these tighter privacy rules, the consequences of data loss have become increasingly expensive. In 2009 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was given the power to issue large fines, up to £500,000, for companies that break data protection laws, and that’s a small cost if you consider the potential public relations disaster that can accompany the loss of highly sensitive data.

Wireless has always been a nice to have, but it is fast becoming a necessity. It offers greater connectivity and usability, particularly to tablet PCs users who are not used to being tethered to their desks.

The cloud is a viable solution

However, once such devices are connected to the network they raise a number of security issues, forcing companies to review their internal structures.  If employees have wireless access to the network, how does the company effectively safeguard data records from those that might take advantage? This question should also be considered for incidents when devices, for example laptops, containing data are lost. One method is to employ encryption software. The software can use algorithms to scramble data, making it appear as nonsense as opposed to useful information. Another option is to store data on a cloud network. Should a laptop or smartphone be lost, data can be quickly and simply wiped using any other device on the network.

Questions such as how company security can integrate and regulate the vast number of apps that users want to install are equally important. Take Skype, for example; undoubtedly a great consumer application, especially for people coming from colleges, such as international students and new graduates. However the reasons why it is so effective is that it punches through firewalls and security systems to make its connections.  Blogs and Twitter, on the other hand, are far less threatening. Of course, the benefit of embracing BYOD is that employees are able to use truly integrated apps, such as running PowerPoint presentations off the iPad

This ‘consumerisation’ of technology is gradually blurring the link between work and home life, meaning that organisations must be more vigilant than ever about who and what is accessing their networks. If a company’s data is its most valuable asset, then IT directors should be looking to the next generation of network solutions to protect this important resource.