Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a trend whereby employee-owned devices are being used within a business. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies enable employees to use the same devices for personal and office use. This approach has gained popularity in recent years due to the increasing reliance on mobile technology and the flexibility it offers both employees and employers. But it has also added cybersecurity risks.
The Benefits of Bring Your Own Device Policies in the Workplace
The adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in enterprises offers several significant advantages:
Cost Savings
Implementing BYOD policies can substantially reduce costs for companies. When employees use their own devices, businesses save on the expense of purchasing and maintaining equipment. This financial benefit allows companies to allocate resources to other critical areas.
Increased Productivity
Employees tend to be more comfortable and efficient when using their own devices. Familiarity with personal devices reduces the time spent on figuring out how to use new equipment and software, leading to more time dedicated to actual work. Statistics indicate that 50% of employees feel more productive when using their own devices for work purposes.
Extended Work Time
Research conducted by Samsung and Frost & Sullivan has shown that personal smartphones enable employees to gain almost an additional hour of work time each day. This contributes to a 34% boost in overall productivity, demonstrating that employees can perform more tasks and work more efficiently with their own devices.
Bring Your Own Device Security Risks
The greatest weakness of Bring Your Own Device is the security risks that come with it. For the 26% of Tech Pro Research’s survey respondents, security concerns were the most common reason as to why.
Employee devices will not have the same security measurements that an organization’s device will have. Any security measurements a personal device has will not be suitable to protect against corporate data breaches or network intrusion. This is a grave threat demonstrated by the fact that 50% of companies that allowed bring your own device were breached by an employee-owned device.
Typically, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) setups have fewer security features compared to company-owned devices. Since BYODs are also used for personal purposes, they are often neglected in terms of security. This neglect makes BYODs more vulnerable to attacks, as they may lack essential security software or features to alert users during an attack.
The Role of Employees in Mitigating Security Risks
Additionally, employees’ actions pose significant security risks to organizations (Employees Role in CyberSecurity). Carelessness and negligence when using BYODs can have severe consequences for the enterprise. The absence of adequate security features on BYODs, means that employee awareness sometimes serves as the only barrier between a malicious actor and a successful hardware-based attack.
Employees Devices Can Be Targets for Cyber Attacks
Unsecure Access Locations
Employees can walk away with a significant amount of data on their devices. Therefore, be targets for cyber attacks. These attacks can occur when an employee uses their device remotely and connects to a public WiFi hotspot whereby a hacker can infiltrate the device.
Similarly, using public charging kiosks that have been manipulated allows a perpetrator to gain remote access to the device. Social engineering of cyberattacks also present a risk. Should “someone” approach an employee looking distressed and say “Hey, my phone has been stolen. Can I borrow yours to make a call?”. That “someone”, is a bad actor. Can use the employee’s phone to gain access to sensitive information and data (Human factors in cybersecurity).
Spoofed Peripheral and Malware
The significance of BYOD security risks is particularly pronounced in relation to spoofed peripherals. A spoofed peripheral is a type of rogue device that impersonates a legitimate Human Interface Device (HID), often referred to as a “bad USB.” These devices are manipulated at the physical layer, which is not covered by existing security software solutions, so they are not recognized as malicious by the endpoint. To the human eye, such devices appear innocuous and raise no alarms (Raspberry Pi Risks, USB Attacks, Spoofed Laptops).
Malware can get onto mobile devices numerous ways including through spam emails, links and rogue programs or apps. Similarly, trojan malware can be embedded through SMS messages and social network links (Mobile Device Security).
Spoofed peripherals also have the ability to inject malware onto the endpoint to which they are connected. Malware is perilous as it can spread to other devices on the business’ network, generating considerable damage. US mobile malware rates are increasing each year (IT threat evolution in Q3 2023). With Apple’s operating system receiving five times more malware than in the five years previous. These figures indicate a growing risk to organizations that permit bring your own device.
Device Theft and Insider Threats
Stealing or acquiring lost devices is an alternative way for hackers to access the organization’s network and obtain valuable information. The best intrusion-detection system and anti-virus software will be futile if this happens.
Password protected devices are not safe either as circumventing a password on a stolen/lost device is no challenge for a hacker.
Insider threat also pose a to an organization and bring your own device facilitates their operations. Mobile devices make it easier for malicious employees to access the company’s network and pilfer sensitive data.
Technological Solutions
Various technological solutions can help mitigate cybersecurity risks, particularly in environments where BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies are in place. Here are some key solutions:
Data Encryption
Encrypting data that goes beyond the control of the organization is necessary and it should be performed throughout the data’s life cycle. 76% of companies do not encrypt mobile devices, which makes them extremely vulnerable. Furthermore, the IT department should take control of encryption keys to prevent unauthorized access and to maintain the encryption, should a breach transpire.
Containerization
This method segregates a portion of the device into its own protected bubble, separate from the other applications and content on the device, and it requires password access.
Whitelisting
The opposite of blacklisting, whitelisting gives employees access only to a list of approved applications. This can be a more appealing solution to employees as there is a more extensive range of applications and websites that exist.
Blacklisting
An organization can use this feature to block apps and websites considered security threats or those that could hinder productivity, like games and social networking apps.
Antivirus Software
Installing antivirus software on individual devices will enhance security by protecting devices from malware attacks.
Overcoming BYOD Security Risks
Many times, enterprises’ IT and security teams struggle in providing complete and accurate visibility into their hardware assets. Especially in today’s extremely challenging IT/OT/IoT environment. This is due to the fact that often, there is a lack of visibility, which leads to a weakened policy enforcement of hardware access, including Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) scenarios.
This may result in security accidents, such as ransomware attacks, data leakage, etc. In order to address this challenge, ultimate visibility into your Hardware assets is required. Regardless of their characteristics and the interface used for connection as attackers. Moreover, it is important to be practical and adjust to the dynamic Cybersecurity defenses put in place to block them, as well as take advantage of the “blind” spots. Mainly through USB Human Interface Device (HID) emulating devices or Physical layer network implants.
Endpoint and Network Security for BYOD Devices
Sepio is the leader in the Rogue Device Mitigation (RDM) market. It is disrupting the cybersecurity industry by uncovering hidden hardware attacks operating over network and USB interfaces.
Sepio’s platform, identifies, detects and handles all peripherals. No device goes unmanaged. The only company in the world to undertake physical layer visibility fingerprinting. It generates a digital fingerprint using the device descriptors of all connected peripherals. It then compares these descriptors against a well-established database of malicious devices, effectively initiating automatic attack prevention. With Machine Learning, the software analyses device behavior to identify abnormalities, such as a mouse acting as a keyboard.
See every known and shadow asset. Prioritize and mitigate risks.
Talk to an expert. Our experts will help you understand how to use Sepio’s patented technology to gain control of your asset risks.
