FEATURE: BYOD
challenges that lead CIOs to often refer
to it as ‘bring your own disaster’.
encryption. When devices containing
corporate information are taken outside
of the workplace there is an increased
risk of the device being lost or stolen. If
the data is encrypted then the hugely
detrimental occurrence of emails,
contacts, notes etc ending up in the
wrong hands is mitigated.
As Timperley explains, “You can build
huge walls protecting your network
from outside threats but when someone
brings a threat in, the results can be
catastrophic. The challenges are never
ending; there are disparate devices with
disparate operating systems, all doing
updates and changing constantly. When
one vulnerability is fixed another will
probably open up in the near future.”
So, what do organisations need to
do to reap the benefits of the mobile
workforce whilst ensuring company data
and networks are protected?
Singh recommends micro-
segmentation as a modern weapon
against the vulnerabilities that
mobility presents. “In the era of BYOD,
merging the needs of the enterprise
with the demands of its users is a
delicate balance. Using workspace
technology on mobile devices makes
it much easier. Installable apps
are used to create ‘containers’ on
employee’s personal devices so that
organisations can provide a secure
and controllable environment for
them to work on. Unlike intrusive
mobile device management solutions
that take control of the entire device,
containerisation is uniquely suited
to BYOD environments because it
segregates and protects company data
without interfering with personal data
on the same device.
“This gives IT admins the ability to
aggregate all devices, applications
and services and deliver them in an
encrypted, policy-aligned container
within personal devices. IT and policy
management extend only to the
“In the era of BYOD,
merging the needs
of the enterprise
with the demands
of its users is a
delicate balance.”
www.intelligentcio.com
Morey Haber, Vice President of
Technology, BeyondTrust
It’s equally as important to ensure
corporate data remains within the
company once an employee leaves the
organisation, particularly a disgruntled
one. This is another instance where
the ability to remote wipe a device
becomes imperative to an organisation.
Elma du Plessis, Channel Manager
at Securicom suggests a mobility
management solution as the best way
to enforce compliance and ensure that
any sensitive data can be removed
from the device when an employee
leaves the company.
Future of BYOD
A mobile workforce is an unavoidable
future, as Jansen van Rensburg says, “The
mobile revolution has redefined business.
It is hard now to imagine not being
equipped with at least one or two mobile
devices as essential working tools.”
Shiraaz Singh, Enterprise Infrastructure
Solutions Specialist, Aptronics
container’s contents, which reside in
complete isolation from the rest of
the device. If a device is lost, stolen or
compromised, IT can wipe company-
specific applications and data without
disturbing personal assets.”
Timperley also advises companies not
to overlook the highly-effective and
easy to implement security solution of
To prepare for this hyper-connected
future, IT departments must ensure
their network architecture can handle
the increase in Wi-Fi traffic and that
their existing device management
platform can scale to accommodate
management of employee devices.
As well as technological requirements,
those working within the IT department
will also be expected to have a more
in-depth knowledge of and ability to
manage and troubleshoot a variety of
different devices.
Securicom’s du Plessis believes that
mobility and continued adoption of
the cloud will fuel the growth of BYOD
in the next 12 months. Whilst it’s
easy to assume that the increase in
mobility will always be mirrored in the
workplace, Timperley warns that the
increase of targeted hacking, phishing
and cyberthreats will lead to a stricter
BYOD landscape and potentially even
a reduction in BYOD if companies are
unable to manage this. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
35