If your employees use company mobiles, are you certain that they are not putting your sensitive business data at risk? Is your data and IT recycling and destruction policy up to date?
Many companies now provide phones to their employees. However, a mobile phone can contain a lot of sensitive data including personal data that you would not want to get into the wrong hands.
So what should you be doing to keep your company phones more secure?
Always Update Company Phones
A widespread Android security flaw was recently reported in the press. Bluebox Security warned that it had found a flaw that could increase the risk of data theft, allowing hackers to turn apps into Trojans, which could enable them to steal data and information from users as well as record conversations.
It recommended that company IT departments always update their devices with the latest firmware and security updates to reduce the risk posed by the flaw. This is something that you should be doing no matter what platform you use.
Have Guidelines in Place for Downloading Apps
The Android security risk arises as a result of users downloading apps from places where the identity of the publishers are questionable. You should therefore be very clear to your employees about what they can and cannot download to avoid this sort of issue becoming a problem.
Make Sure Phones Are Password Protected
One of the easiest ways to increase the security of your employees’ mobile phones is to insist that they password protect their devices. All of the major mobile operating systems allow you to do this with ease, and it provides another obstacle for data thieves to overcome.
Use a Remote Wipe Feature
Get your IT department to set up a remote wipe feature, which will allow you to wipe all the details from the devices if they are lost or stolen. This again provides an extra level of security.
Destroy Handsets Securely
If the phones contain particularly sensitive data, what should you do when you upgrade them? Many companies don’t know what to do with their old phones, but the best option in this case is to destroy them. Our secure shredding service is exactly what you need to completely destroy your old handsets to ensure that no one ever gets access to the information that they contain. We not only destroy phones, but can cover all IT recycling too.
Educate Your Employees on Phone Security
These are all tips to help you keep your employees’ mobile devices safe if you provide them with mobile phones for work. This is a very serious issue for companies to consider, and it is essential to practice good phone security because new threats arise all the time and you want to ensure that you are taking all of the necessary precautions.
You should also remind your employees about the importance of looking after their phones properly to reduce the chance that they will lose them in the first place. Make sure they are security conscious when using their phones outside of the office, and you could help to prevent more problems from arising.
Image courtesy of Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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