Pub. 9 2020 Issue 2

The CommunityBanker 16 Mobile Devices at Work — How to Allow Them While Protecting Your Bank W e all love our mobile devices. If you look around in any restaurant, walking down the street, even while driving (not a safe idea), you will see people glued to their mobile phones. In the past few years, the line has blurred between our personal mobile devices and business devices. Espe- cially now, as a large part of the workforce is working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, personal mobile device use is the norm for millions of people. We must be prepared that many employees may want to continue using their personal mo- bile devices as they transition back to the workplace. The mobile technology environment makes work easier and more functional than ever before. Our mobile devices — including laptops, tablets, and smartphones — are highly transportable, mak- ing ubiquitous access to work data a simple task. Not only that, but most of our personal devices have our preferences saved, making them more comfort- able to use. According to a recent survey by Dell, 61% of Gen-Y and 50% of 30+ workers believe that their personal technology tools are more effective and productive than those used in their work life. We call this phenomenon BYOD — Bring Your Own Device. BYOD has both positive and negative aspects. Efficiency and productivity are increased due to employee comfort and proficiency with their own devices; however, the introduction of mobile devices to your secure bank network can put your bank in a vulnerable security position. When you consider the number of employee-owned smart- phones in use and add in the growing number of mobile laptops now utilized by banks, you begin to grasp the sheer amount of sensitive data walking around in the world every day. Dangers posed by malicious applications, viruses and hacking become a much more viable threat. So, for your bank, the question becomes, “How do we incorporate mobile device use in our bank environment and still pro- tect our bank and customer information?” Risk Management Risk management is a well-known concept for banks. As a bank, you are always weighing the risk of any program, asset or action against the benefit. F E A T U R E