Mobile Security Threats: Companies Look Out For these Top 4 Threats

While It’s true that mobile devices in the business world has offered promising benefits to its users all over the globe, there are also cybersecurity risks alongside it. Hence, it became a necessity for companies to comply with security measures so they fully benefit from such technological advancement.

There are many ways smartphones and remote connectivity can jeopardize your company’s safety. It is essential to understand these threats thoroughly in order to address them accordingly. In this blog, you will learn how mobile devices can pose risks to business security and how you can avoid them.

Understanding Security Risks

In the digital age that people live in today, it is evident that cybersecurity is one of the top priorities of businesses all around the world. It’s no surprise that IT security services from managed IT services in the Philippines gradually gained its popularity in the business world.

With the help of these experts, organizations were able to identify the technologies and practices that put their business at risks. Through this, they were able to take the first step towards protecting their company network.

To give you an overview of the security risks they identified, here is a list of threats that have jeopardized several company networks over the years:

Unauthorized Network Access

Most often than not, unauthorized network access takes place when external intruders gain access to a device on your company network. That’s why it’s fundamental for business owners to discourage employees from accessing company resources in unsecured networks like public Wi-Fi and free hotel Wi-Fi. Aside from this, unauthorized network access can also take place when employees access sensitive data without the permission of the admin.

Regardless of the root cause, one thing is certain: it only takes one mobile device to compromise your company’s data security. It’s imperative for companies to be mindful of this security threat.

Unlicensed Applications

While unlicensed applications made several companies suffer the penalties of improper software management, it also jeopardized the safety of corporate networks. This is the exact reason why IT experts emphasize the importance of digital software licensing across business organizations. Through the installation of these unlicensed apps, cybercriminals are able to trigger malware attacks to exploit the vulnerabilities of company networks. That’s why it’s important for businesses to restrict employees from installing unlicensed software in the company devices they’re using.

Malware Attacks

Alongside the advancements in technology is the consistent and sophisticated development of malware attacks. Aside from triggering malware attacks through unlicensed applications, this malicious software can also be prompted by opening malicious websites in company mobile devices.

Through these malware threats, cybercriminals gained the capacity to compromise countless data that are stored in corporate networks. That’s why it’s vital for businesses to take cybersecurity seriously.

Loss of Data or Devices

Apart from the ones mentioned above, one of the prevalent reasons why mobile devices place the cybersecurity of companies at risk is its susceptibility to being stolen and misplaced. When your company phone falls on the wrong hands, the corporate data it can access can easily be exploited by cybercriminals.

Although it’s impossible to prevent people from losing their devices, data encryption allows you to protect the company data that it can access. It’s essential for business owners to make use of data encryption as an extra precaution.

Protecting Your Company from The Risks That Mobile Devices Bring

As you can see, mobile devices can make your information technology environment vulnerable to cybersecurity threats when you’re not careful. That’s why it’s important to know the tools and features necessary to safeguard your company from these threats. In this portion of the blog, you will learn more about how to protect your company as you enjoy the advantages that mobile devices bring. You can use these tips to help your company overcome the threats that have exposed several company networks to cybersecurity risks.

Establish Strong Network Protection

It is well-known among experts that virtual private networks (VPN) are secure from endpoint to endpoint. Most often than not, the remote users that access VPNs have a corporate VPN application on their devices in order for them to establish secure connections to the company network. Hence, the best way that you can protect your network from remote access is by implementing a VPN. Furthermore, you can also make use of a smart card and a two-factor authentication system to establish strong network protection. By doing this, you will be able to strengthen your network’s defenses from security attacks.

Implement Proper Device Management

If you want to ensure your company’s cybersecurity, it is crucial that you determine the users that need access to sensitive data and those that do not. By doing this, you will be able to provide authorized employees secured and encrypted access to your company’s data. Aside from that, you should also manage the company phones that are allowed to send encrypted data.

As you can see, proper device management can certainly help your company fend off cybersecurity threats. That’s why it’s important to implement this in your organization as you make use of mobile devices.

Manage Mobile Device Patches

Other than the implementation of proper device management in business organizations, it is also vital for business owners to ensure their mobile device patches are carefully managed. At present, mobile device patch management is one of the major management problems for businesses that provide company phones. This is because of the patching process’ requirement for users to be logged into the VPN connection in order to get the group security updates, policy updates, etc.

To address this problem, business owners can make use of mobile device managers like the one Microsoft offers. Three of its primary features are the following:

• Device Management and Enrollment

With this device management and enrollment feature, employees can easily replace a device then use a wizard to connect and enroll the device. Through that, the users are enabled to push down certain software and policies that are predetermined by the admin. Furthermore, the admin can also track inventory, history, and enrollment status using a graphical user interface that’s based on the Microsoft Management Console 3.0.

• Mobile VPN

Many security risks can come from connecting to unsecured network connections. That’s why it’s important to have a mobile VPN for your company phones. With the mobile device manager’s mobile VPN feature, you’ll be given a secure link from the device to the intranet resources. Through this, you’ll be able to ensure that the patches you’re making use of comes from a secure and encrypted network.

• Software Distribution

Software distribution is a process that allows end-users to acquire software applications and updates directly from developers. Through this, organizations get a safe and consistent method for deploying, packaging, and tracking the changes made in the software inventory of the company. Furthermore, it can also enable users to enforce and manage file encryption.

Set End-User Policies in Motion

In order to effectively implement a strong mobile device security system in your company, it is fundamental for business owners to establish the right end-user security policies. With these policies, you will be able to control how you assess the risks and how you limit those risks through security solutions.

Most often than not, an organization makes use of a variety of devices. To help you decide what policies to set in motion, here is a list of suggestions you should consider:

• Identify the different uses of mobile devices, then classify them by their access needs, job functions, etc.
• Identify which among your pool of data is confidential and determine the users that need to access each data.
• Make sure to limit company data access to only those that need it.
• Ensure the safety of customer data by setting the location where it can be accessed. Look into where this data is frequently accessed and see to it that these locations are secure.
• See to it that you educate your employees about data security. By doing this, you will be able to encourage them to be careful as they make the most of the security technology on their devices. When your employees, customers, and partners are aware of the risks, they will understand the importance of following the end-user policies you implemented.
• As you choose the antivirus, malware cleaning, and firewall products you should make use of for your company, make sure that it will meet your needs and your budget. When you put his policy in motion, you will be able to ensure that the money you invest in security solutions won’t be put to waste.

Mobile devices definitely revolutionized how business organizations move forward towards their goals. But in order to avoid the security risks that come with it, mobile devices should be managed and protected carefully. With the help of managed services like House of IT, you’ll gain the privilege to let experts handle your company’s network security for you. Not only will this give you the peace of mind that your network is safe, but it will also help you maximize the capabilities of your mobile devices without worries.