How to Secure Mobile Devices in Your Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
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Mobile security is becoming increasingly essential to small and medium-sized businesses as more hackers target mobile devices. Failure to recognize the importance of mobile security can lead to data theft, unauthorized conversation monitoring, and installation of malware on employees’ devices. Fortunately, a managed service provider can offer a trusted solution to businesses who seek to prevent these breaches from occurring.
Below is a look at some of the key reasons for small and medium-sized businesses to secure their employees’ mobile devices and some strategies to enhance mobile security for their employees.
Why aren’t Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Taking This seriously?
Mobile security is important for businesses of all sizes. However, small and medium-sized businesses are often less likely to give the proper attention to mobile security because of the following:
- Owners feel that their business is too small to be targeted by mobile device hackers
- Business owners think that hacking is something that only affects desktop computers
- Small business owners worry that they cannot afford to pay for mobile security
- Owners mistakenly believe that mobile hacking is something that impacts other companies
Business owners who feel that their businesses are immune to mobile hacking or those who concentrate their security efforts on desktop computers are in for an unpleasant surprise. The reality is that hackers are now focusing on mobile devices more than ever. And with small businesses often lacking the financial resources to fully recover from data theft or financial loss due to invasion of privacy, small business owners cannot afford NOT to address the need for mobile security.
What Can Happen if Mobile Devices Are Not Secured
Failure to secure your employees’ mobile devices can wreak financial and emotional havoc on your staff and your business. Hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their efforts to target mobile devices, emphasizing the growing need to invest in mobile security. Below are some key consequences that business owners may face if failing to secure employees’ mobile devices:
- Malware strains that direct users to malicious sites or expose them to viruses
- Unauthorized device modification or “jailbreaking” that may enable a security breach
- Data theft, or release of confidential data into the cloud environment
Many business owners underestimate how much it costs to address these problems. Unfortunately, companies can expect to pay over $400,000 for each mobile security breach. Because most small and medium-sized businesses cannot recover financially from this type of expense, a mobile security plan should be put into place.
Identifying Measures to Secure Employees’ Mobile Devices
While it is impossible to fully prevent security breaches on employees’ mobile devices, there are some measures that employers can take in the workplace to help secure employees’ mobile devices. They are as follows:
- Understand the most common types of security threats
- Recognize signs of malware or device modification
- Establish and enforce formal Mobile Device Management (MDM) policies
- Provide employees with general training about mobile security
- Establish specific rules regarding the use of passcodes with devices
- Enforce two-factor authentication with devices
Securing Employees’ Devices With the Help of an Industry Expert
The best way to make sure that your employees’ devices are properly secured is to seek the guidance of an industry expert. For over a decade, the professionals with Core Business Services have offered customized mobile security to businesses of all types and sizes. Contact us today to find out why we are the region’s leader in mobile security and technical support.
We look forward to working with you to give you the peace of mind that will come from knowing that your employees’ mobile devices are secure!