What you need to know to keep your devices secure with a workforce that’s always on the go.
Today’s workforce is more mobile now than ever before, and this creates a lot of great opportunities for businesses, customers, and employees alike. But it also provides a lot of opportunities for hackers, data thieves, and more to take advantage of this trend and gain access to the critical or sensitive information contained on your mobile devices. So how can you do your part to ensure that your team’s mobile devices are staying as secure as possible, and what are some mobile device security best practices that you can use?
Here are some tactics to keep in mind:
Updates: run them!
Make sure that your team understands the importance of allowing updates to run on their devices, and make a habit of checking for updates regularly. An updated device is more likely to have the most current security patches, bug fixes, and more to keep your data safe.
Backup, and then back up again!
Ensure that the data on your mobile devices is backed up either to the cloud or a hard drive, and when possible make this process happen automatically. And use security best practices for your backed-up data too!
User? Authenticate them!
One of the first lines of defense your team members have against would-be thieves is user authentication. What’s that mean? It means that only the person who is supposed to be using that device, can use that device. User Authentication looks like a PIN number, fingerprint scanner, pattern, or something similar.
Disable and protect.
If you aren’t currently using your Bluetooth connection, make sure to turn off this feature to keep it from being ‘discovered’ and accessed. The same goes for Wifi; if you aren’t using it (or don’t have to) disable the feature to reduce your device’s risk factor for being hacked into.
Wipe it remotely.
If you haven’t considered this feature yet, you really need to. There’s a lot of things that you can do to prevent your team’s devices from being stolen or hacked, but did you know that by wiping a device remotely, you can still protect your data after a theft or user breach has already occurred.
Communicate and educate.
All the features and tips in the world won’t help you keep your data safe unless your team knows about them, and knows how to use them. Buy-in is incredibly important when it comes to staying vigilant, so conduct regular trainings with your staff on data security and what THEY can do to help keep everyone safe!
If you need a little (or a lot!) of help implementing these 6 steps with your team, or you are ready to move past these basics and need something a little more enterprise-level, Mobility Help Desk has partnered with AT&T to provide you with unparalleled service and mobile device security solutions.
