The pandemic has caused dramatic changes in our work lives. We have gone from being in offices to working in our bedrooms. With our new workplace, we began to rely more heavily on our phones for work — creating alarming cybersecurity concerns. As someone who works from home, my personal device has a specific work folder, with apps like RingCentral, Microsoft Teams, Outlook and even Salesforce. This creates concern for me because my personal and work data are on one device. If my phone gets hacked, there’s access to my business information and vice versa. In 2021 alone, mobile hacking was high with different apps we all have on our phones being vulnerable.  

Policing peoples’ private devices brings new privacy issues of how much we can intervene with what they do on their personal devices, how accessible their devices should be to the company, and more. How do we monitor devices that were once firmly in the domain of personal space? 

In some organizations a “business” smartphone is given where the IT department controls installed apps, settings, patches, updates, etc. While having a “business phone” helps separate personal and business data, it still adds an extra problem if the IT department gets hacked, then all company phones are at risk.  

You need to have strict protocols in place when dealing with personal devices. Updating patching and implementing VPNs and coordinating with workplaces need to be done. It’s a tricky balance, but the balance needs to be struck as malware incidents increase.  

Access Tech understands the vulnerability of mixing personal data and business data on one device. As we are remote workers too, we feel the insecurity and risks that come with using our personal mobile devices for work. It only takes one device to gain access to your company’s network. Contact Access Tech today for a free Security scan where we can help you determine gaps in your security and how to upgrade it to protect your company’s data.  

For further reading, here is more on mobile malware risks.