Reigning in The Mobile Device Frontier: The Wild West of the Digital Workplace

With hybrid work models adopted by many companies in recent years, more than ever, IT teams are required to ensure that team members can work safely and securely on the remote endpoints of their choosing – including their own personal devices under a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy. However, unmanaged mobile devices can significantly increase an organisation’s attack surface and limit employee productivity because of outdated software, unsecured networks, potentially harmful applications, or compatibility issues. With so much work increasingly being done at the endpoint, lost devices, phishing attacks, and app-borne malware are just a few ways poor endpoint management practices can compromise modern enterprises. 

Seventy percent of employees are now using four or more endpoint devices per day, and a recent survey found that almost half (39%) of organisations have experienced a data security breach due to a lost or stolen device. Enterprises continue to find themselves facing an increased attack surface and, as a result, grappling with heightened risks. Much remains in flux as the attack surface continues to heat up and AI-enabled threats emerge on the scene – and this unique variety of challenges doesn't show any signs of slowing soon.  

As CISOs and security teams struggle to balance individual device preferences and enablement with effective endpoint management and security at scale, here’s where a consolidated approach to mobile device management (MDM) can help strengthen organisational resolve while enabling a more productive, efficient, and resilient digital workforce.  

More Flexibility for Employees, More Complexity for IT 

Most IT networks today effectively support personal and company-owned mobile devices including phones, laptops, and tablets – as lines between personal and business device usage blurs. As a result, a wide array of operating systems and devices connecting from more locations is forcing IT teams and CISOs to address the rising risk of tech sprawl within their organisation. 

Shadow IT, where employees use devices and applications without IT or security knowing about them, remains a persistent threat. According to IBM, over one-third (38%) of employees acknowledge sharing sensitive work information with AI tools without their employers' permission. When considering the range of freely accessible apps and services available on unrestricted app stores, and the ability to side-load applications outside of these,  IT teams have an even broader bevy of novel risks to contend with. Without controls, unauthorised apps can steal data or introduce malware, placing enterprises at risk. Even perfectly viable third-party applications can introduce data loss protection concerns. With so much at stake, visibility is essential to scale endpoint operations while staying ahead of risk.  

Where MDM Makes the Difference 

CISOs are finding it increasingly necessary to have access to tools that can provide better insight into employees’ use of authorised (and unauthorised) tools. This can be achieved through endpoint monitoring and management systems, which increase visibility over all devices and applications and enable automated patching and secure cloud-first backups. Automated discovery tools can also work to identify unsanctioned software and enforce security policies. 

Another core technical component that can assist CISOs and security teams in achieving this balance between device enablement and security is an MDM solution. MDM solutions can offer CISOs and bootstrapped security teams a standardised method of managing mobile devices at scale. MDM platforms can provide a single interface where IT administrators can enrol and monitor mobile devices, create and enforce mobile device policies, and set restrictions to deliver a consistent, familiar user experience, while protecting the organisation against threats posed by unmanaged devices. Better policy enforcement means stronger device security and minimised risk, while still ensuring employees can do their best work from the devices of their choice. To this end, MDM solutions are incredibly effective in helping organisation tackle compliance-related challenges as well.  

But with the threat landscape growing and evolving so rapidly, and people remaining top targets in increasingly persistent attacks, it’s not just solutions that CISOs and security teams need to employ to curb risk. Comprehensive security awareness trainings – continuously updating personnel on the latest adversarial tactics and educating them on the security implications of their actions – are just as essential. Every employee should understand the risks of sideloading applications, granting overreaching permissions to untrusted applications, clicking links or engaging with unknown correspondence, or using untrusted Wi-Fi networks. They should also be aware of their organisation’s escalation paths for reporting suspicious contact, and what to do if they lose a device. The faster an IT team is notified of a device that is lost or stolen, the faster they can lock it down or wipe it clean.   

All in all, the current digital landscape poses significant opportunities for modern digital workers to lean into where and how they want to do work – often accelerating business outcomes as a result. But without the right security tools or trainings in place to support the use of mobile devices and BYOD at scale, the mobile workforce could inadvertently create a security nightmare for enterprises. As the digital landscape evolves, it’s essential for CISOs and security teams to ensure they have visibility across infrastructure and networks to optimise, secure, and enable digital workers – across the devices of their choosing – without opening their organisations up to more risk. It’s a tall order, but thanks to modern solutions and capabilities like MDM, it’s more possible for modern enterprises to build and grow (securely) and at scale.