It’s time for Tip #17 for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Mitigate threats from mobile devices.
More than 95% of Americans have a mobile device now, and all those devices contain many forms of sensitive data. Hackers and spam phone calls are increasing the risk that cybercriminals can get sensitive banking information, usernames, passwords and other sensitive data.
More systems are creating apps and platforms that let workers accomplish tasks via mobile devices, opening the door for criminals to gain access to your company data.
Steps you can take
1. Set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that uses strong encryption for employees to connect to your internal environment from their mobile devices.
2. Draft policies for mobile device management that include an acceptable use policy for personal devices and other measures for corporate phones.
3. Train your team on how to recognize and handle spam phone calls.
4. Stay away from risky and unsecure Wi-Fi.
5. Train your team to be aware of people who might be looking over their shoulder.
6. Require multifactor authentication and use features such as fingerprint or SMS access codes.
7. Implement a mobile device management platform that requires strong passcodes/biometric identification of the user and allows for corporate data to be wiped remotely if the mobile device is lost or stolen.
8. Instruct your employees to never leave their mobile devices unlocked.
9. Work with your employees to ensure they are updating to the latest mobile operating systems and apps.