How to “Contain” the Threat that’s Holding Back Government BYOD Programs
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs are popping up across corporate America. Yet many in the U.S. government still eye this cost-saving strategy (less infrastructure = reduced IT footprint) with caution.
Security and liability are among the top concerns that are stalling widespread adoption with many government officials finding BYOD programs to be “more trouble than they’re worth” (Forrester).
Yet, independent research from the Brookings Institution, suggests that the federal government is “missing critical opportunities to benefit from BYOD…”
Feds Have Limited Plans for BYOD
Aside from the Department of Veteran Affairs, which plans to support its increasingly mobile workforce with BYOD, “no other federal agencies appear to even recognize the value of BYOD to government… we would expect the majority of federal agencies to describe clear BYOD policies,” says Brookings.
State & Local Officials are More Progressive
On the state and local side, we see a little more optimism about BYOD. A 2014 survey by Citrix found that: “Agencies are…gearing up for mobility with investments in secure remote connections, security enhancements and mobile device management (MDM). In addition, the adoption of BYOD initiatives is highly likely and, overall, growing.”
Despite these different perspectives, when it comes to BYOD, governments are united in their security worries.
Enforcing BYOD Security Involves a Paradigm Shift
The single biggest target for the mobile platform is credentials. If a cyber criminal gets access to a user’s device they could potentially find privileged credentials to further penetrate the organization. (Source: Oracle whitepaper: Secure Adoption of BYOD). BYOD definitely changes the rules that government IT is used to playing by. With the gateway no longer the main point of control, instead the new security perimeter is users, devices, and data.
Balancing Enterprise Data with Employee Privacy
Oracle maintains that this new security model requires a balancing act, one that secures enterprise application data while maintaining employee privacy. This goes against traditional MDM solutions which treat all data as the property of the organization, without respecting the boundaries between work and personal data. This is core to Oracle’s mobile security product strategy.
By separating workplace application data from personal data, government employees have the freedom to use their personal devices in the workplace, without compromising agency security.
Using containerization, the Oracle Mobile Security Suite creates a secure workspace in which agency applications, email, and data are stored. This workspace is only accessible by authenticated users and only applications provisioned or approved by IT can be installed and executed within the space. If the device is stolen, IT can remotely wipe the secure workspace without impacting personal data.
To learn more contact a DLT Solutions expert and check out The Oracle Mobile Security Suite: Secure Adoption of BYOD.
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