Data breaches are a big issue for many companies today—organizations that have suffered them, and organizations that are desperately trying not to be the next victim in the headlines. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 783 major breaches in the United States in 2014, a 27.5 percent increase over the previous year. Since 2005, 675 million records have been compromised by breaches in the U.S.
But massive incidents in which customer information is exposed are not the only worries employers have about file security. Unauthorized access to company data may not put any consumers at risk but still could carry serious consequences to the organization itself if proprietary information, financial records, internal emails, and so on, are accessed without the correct authorization—even by your own employees. Add mobile file sharing into the mix, and you see why employers are understandably concerned.
Increasingly, companies are turning to file retrieval solutions to share documents on mobile devices such as iPad and Surface. With this development—welcomed by many as an improvement to share files—naturally comes questions about security. Here are some reasons why:
Cloud Solutions and Mobility Don’t Mix Well
Some organizations have turned to cloud-based sharing solutions, such as Box or DropBox, for file retrieval on their tablets, but the results have been mixed at best. These platforms are better suited for computers and are better geared toward teams or small departments rather than an entire enterprise. Put the applications onto devices such as an iPad or Surface, and they become less secure. Automatic content control technology specifically designed for mobility is available and solves many of the shortcomings that cloud solutions suffer from.
Mobile Devices Are Easily Lost
Employees go to great lengths to keep their laptops safe but generally aren’t quite as diligent about their mobile devices. Tablets are portable, and as such, are easily misplaced, whether they are stolen out of someone’s backpack or purse or left behind at a coffee shop. A missing work (or personal—many employees now use their own devices for work functions) iPad can mean unauthorized access to the organization. Without security features such as automatic content control and remote wiping (both often found on dedicated mobile content control applications), a lost device can be potentially costly.
Too Much Convenience
Users love the convenience their tablets and smartphones offer. Press a button, swipe your finger, and voila, you have access to everything you need. This is great if an employee is quickly going to a Facebook account, not so much if he or she is accessing work documents. Tablet users generally avoid password-protecting their applications, thus giving a thief an easy path to workplace confidential information.
A Company’s Worth of Documents at Risk
Mobile users may not be using passwords with their file sync and share apps, but some companies are barely using features such as sharing permissions to limit access. This exposes files of an entire organization not only to thieves or hackers who came into possession of a wayward iPad, but also employees who shouldn’t be privy to the inner workings of other parts of the company. Mobile file-sharing solutions sync only the files an employee has access to, getting the right content into the right hands. And if a thief did get ahold of the device, their files can be remotely wiped within seconds, making your critical information untouchable.
What aspect of mobile file sync and share technology has you most concerned?
