29 August, 2016

Mobile security is becoming an important issue for the organizations to address. There is no denying the fact that mobile devices help to save time and increase employee efficiency to a great extent. However, the potential security risks posed by these devices cannot be overlooked. It is seen that most employees use the same mobile device for personal and official purposes. It means that connecting to an unsecure network or downloading a malicious app puts both type of data at risk.

Listed below are some tips to improve mobile security in an organization:

  • Use Strong Passwords: A lengthy and difficult password is the first line of defense against a potential data breach. Therefore, encourage your employees to keep their devices protected with a strong password. Besides the basic mobile security options like PIN numbers or patterns, they should opt for more sophisticated ones like fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, voice recognition etc.
  • Install Anti-Malware Software: Owing to the ignorance of users, hackers are constantly targeting mobile operating systems to initiate a malware attack. It is important that the devices used by your employees to connect to the corporate network have an anti-malware software installed. They should also regularly update the software to stay protected against the recent forms of malware.
  • Avoid Unsecured Wi-Fi: Many organizations today are allowing employees to work from remote locations, which increases the risk of your company’s important data being accessed and shared over public Wi-Fi connections. Make sure your employees are aware of the potential security risks and access corporate data through secure Wi-Fi networks only.
  • Encrypt Confidential Data: Encryption of sensitive information sent and received on mobile devices can go a long way in improving your company’s cyber security. Organizations can implement encryption policies according to the employee groups or the level of data confidentiality.
  • Choose Mobile Applications Carefully: You should limit or block the use of third party software on mobile devices being used for official communications. This can help to prevent the occurrence of a breach resulting from unintentional drive-by downloads or installation of applications having backdoors to transmit company’s information to the hackers. Employees should be allowed to install only reliable and a limited number of apps from a legitimate source.
  • Create Secured Mobile Gateways: You can consider directing mobile traffic through a special gateway with targeted security controls, such as firewalls, web content filtering and data loss prevention. This will restrict the employees from using the company’s internal network for personal communications, thereby preventing unwanted software downloads.

For more tips on improving your organization’s mobile security, you can contact Centex Technologies at (855) 375 – 9654.