Whilst instant internet access at home, work or even in coffee shops and on trains is something most people now take for granted, for many network managers the growing popularity of smart phones, tablets and other portable devices is causing a major headache.
Plus it’s no longer only an issue on open Wi-Fi networks because the growth of ‘Bringing Your Own Device’ (BYOD), in locations ranging from schools through to blue chip companies, is showing no sign of slowing down.
Many people presume the growth of BYOD is down to budget cuts in the current economic climate, because it saves money if people use their own equipment, but this isn’t necessarily the case because BYOD requires additional infrastructure and a new set of policies and procedures which means it isn’t always the cheapest option.
If it was about saving money the wave would be travelling much slower. Most PCs can last a long time before being replaced, and eking a few more years out of existing kit with another stick of RAM can save money and minimise the need for major changes in many organisations.
Instead the driver behind BYOD is the users and their familiarity with their tablets, smart phones, netbooks, and the ubiquity of these increasingly cheap and portable devices.
However the main problem with BYOD is that mobile devices offer many of the same old fashioned threat vectors that we’ve been fighting for years. The speed that new malware is being released now exceeds the rate that legitimate software is produced meaning there are millions of devices out there containing spyware, adware, viruses, worms, Trojan horses, rootkits and other malicious software.
Obviously the owners of these devices have no idea this software is there and even if they have up to date antivirus and anti-malware software, it won’t protect against the very latest threats that came out that morning – sometimes called ‘zero-day threats’.
As a result the mindset amongst many network managers and organisations is that there will always be a level of malware until someone comes up with a better vehicle for internet crime.
Whilst it may be very difficult for network managers to keep infected devices off their network they can make sure that malware can’t do any damage or infect other devices.
This means having an adequate protection system in place that will effectively ring-fence infected devices. In addition appropriate policies must be introduced to control how the system works because at the moment there is no standard philosophy amongst most network managers to contain the growing problem.
Many operate on a piecemeal basis where each issue is addressed as it arises. Often this even comes down to whether or not someone asking whether they can connect their own device in the first place hears ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
In many cases the successful deployment of BYOD has as much to do with the management of it as the technology. From the outset it’s important to involve the management of an organisation from an early stage and also look at it from legal and financial perspectives whilst also considering the risks to the business.
Only then can an informed decision be made about whether an organisation is ready to embrace BYOD and an environment where a networks’ users have the freedom to use the tools and devices that are best suited to them and their needs.
