Note: Today is week 5 of a 9-week blog series in which we are peeling back the 7 Layers of Data Security. Catch up on the series here.
#### Layer 3: Endpoint Security
is the concept that employees can use personal devices for work-related purposes. The benefits are that your employees can work from almost anywhere, and, hopefully, they're more efficient. The problems, however, are abundant.
#### The Problems With BYOD
As the number of devices that are expected to access corporate data increase, thought to securing those devices has not increased proportionately.
People clamor for BYOD. No one clamors for security. In small businesses, the loudest voice often gets what they want.
> Only 30% of companies have approved BYOD policies.
Before, there was no expectation that I as an employee got to choose what device I wanted to use. But now, there is pressure from all sides of the IT department to make those devices accessible, integrated, seamless, and efficient. Almost no one, however, is clamoring for those devices to be secure. That's something the IT department has to determine, solve for, pitch to leadership, emphasize, worry about.
Without a champion, the BYOD workplace, while efficient and very flexible, will -- I repeat, will \-\- be your company's weak point. Strong security policies are the backbone of an effective BYOD workplace.
#### Considerations when creating your BYOD policy
- Which type of corporate data can be processed on personal devices
- How to encrypt and secure access to the corporate data
- How the corporate data should be stored on the personal devices
- How and when the corporate data should be deleted from the personal devices
- How the data should be transferred from the personal device to the company servers
A BYOD environment is fine as long as you control it adequately and have proper policies in place to limit access appropriately to corporate data. However, many organizations don't lay the right framework, so these devices just create more cracks in your security.
So, what are those controls?
#### Let's Talk Encryption
Encryption is the process by which you scramble the data on your devices, making them unreadable to any viewer without the appropriate credentials. It is a software that makes the data on your device unreadable. If a criminal were to steal your device and attempt to access the private information on it, he would not be able to see it, read it, use it, or sell it. It's not just for computers either -- external hard drives, thumb drives, even servers are all able to be encrypted.
#### Why Endpoint Encryption?
It is vital to encrypt your network “endpoints” because without it, those devices present a significant security vulnerability. Simply put, endpoint encryption is the simplest, most cost effective way to address a wide swath of your network vulnerability in a single step.
Below are some of the tools that can help bolster your endpoint security:
- Servers, Workstations, Switches, Routers
- Desktop Firewall
- Kaspersky, McAfee, Trend
- Content Security/AV/Malware
- Kaspersky, McAfee, Trend
- Host IDS/IPS - Some bleed over into different zones
- Endpoint Security Enforcement
- AlertLogic
- Patch Management
- Endpoint/Device Encryption
- Mobile Device Management (MDM)
- 2 Factor Authentication
- Hosted Desktops
#### Security Assessment
Now is the time to consider the next step toward building a culture of security within your organization. Request a Security Assessment from TekLinks” team of experts.
Catch up on the rest of the 7 Layers Data Security series here.
Next week we will discuss Application Security, the process of securing the software your organization uses to perform a particular function.
WHO IS TEKLINKS? A national leader in cloud computing, managed services, engineering services, and value-added resale. We're a team of expert techies and business professionals who are passionate about building valuable relationships and getting things done right. Simply put: We make IT work for business.