Is Using a Personal Phone for Work Putting Your Business at Risk?
You don't need anyone to tell you that work isn't confined to the four walls of your office. Gone are the days of punching in and out at a time clock, and clients, customers, and employees will want contact no matter where you are or what time it is. This means doing a lot of business on the phone, and smartphones only increase the amount of work you can do away from your desk.
But is all this freedom a security risk? And does using a personal phone for work increase that risk?
Scams
If you or your employees are using a personal cell phone for work, that means you want to be working -- not answering robocalls and being hassled with pre-recorded messages. Between time-wasting telemarketers and expensive cell phone scams, you're not only losing time, but money. These losses would be easier to manage on a business-only line, especially if you're subsidizing your employees' personal phone bills since they're making calls on company time.
Hacks
Doing work on the go can mean using some unsecure networks to do so. And if you haven't been warned about logging on to public Wi-Fi by now, let this serve as our word of caution. There are now VPN protections for smartphones and you can outfit you and your employees with mobile hotspots -- they may not be free, but they'll keep your devices more secure.
Ransom
If hackers can access your phone, they can hold it hostage. While the bulk of ransomware attacks have targeted data stored on computer systems, smartphones could be the next ransom frontier. And a single phone becomes a lot more valuable if it goes from one person's texting and calling device to a customer data storage machine.
Doing any business via phone can carry risks, and those risks are only increased if you or your employees are doing business on personal phones. If you want help keeping your business secure, contact a local technology attorney.
Related Resources:
- Find Technology Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
- How to Remotely Wipe an Employee's Cell Phone (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
- Do You Need an Employee Smartphone Policy? (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
- Can Employers Search Workers' Cell Phones? (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)