Protect Your Team’s Mobile Devices While Home for the Holidays

“Home for the holidays” can mean different things to different workers. For some, it simply means taking several days off from the daily commute to a nearby job. For others, it may mean a dream trip to the other side of the country or even the world. But many of these holiday-bound employees may share one thing in common: the use of mobile devices to keep in touch with colleagues and get some unavoidable work done during the break. But these devices can cause trouble for your business -- and trouble doesn’t observe vacations.

In fact, the reverse can prove true. For instance, ransomware attacks tend to increase significantly over holidays and weekends. As we’ve mentioned before, ransomware can literally lock you out of your critical data indefinitely (which is one reason a data backup and restoration plan matters so much). But ransomware, spyware, and other malware can also strike the mobile devices used by your employees to connect to your IT system during holiday breaks.

A lost or stolen mobile device that ends up in capable hands could also expose your data in dangerous ways. Even casual use of a non-secure data connection can allow hackers to intercept employee communications.

Take immediate action to protect your business against mobile device vulnerabilities this holiday season. Start by enforcing a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy for employees who access your data via personal devices. Make sure all devices use security features such as fingerprint or password protection, as well as a VPN app to secure Internet connections. If possible, install kill switches on devices so you can deactivate them remotely if they go missing.

Gravity Systems can help you implement protective measures to let your vacationing employees check in on the workplace without worries. Contact our Austin IT business support team today!