Call Accounting Can Help Combat BYOD Security Risks
May 05, 2016
By Laura Stotler
TMCnet Contributing Editor
When it comes to the bring your own device (BYOD) trend, the party line in the technology world is generally focused on benefits – increased productivity, cost savings, efficiencies, mobility and flexibility – just to name a few. But BYOD has inherent security risks and organizations need to take a broad view of their security plans and infrastructure to properly protect data and assets.
Call accounting solutions are one of many ways enterprises can combat the security concerns associated with BYOD. But to understand their benefit and value, we need to back up and take a look at the bigger picture to successfully secure users, devices and networks. By securing the network from the inside out, organizations can successfully implement a broad range of access control and authentication measures to insure BYOD doesn’t put them at risk.
According to a Ponemon Institute (News - Alert) study, two-thirds of respondents reported data breaches as a direct result of workers using their own mobile devices to access company resources. To combat this trend, enterprises need to segment their networks, creating tiers for public, private and hybrid limited access, for instance. Access control to each tier can be adjusted accordingly to protect the most sensitive and valuable data.
Managing and centralizing access is another way to control user behavior, regardless of which device they are using. Administrators can implement role-based access this way, and central control also creates visibility into which users are accessing which resources. This is where call accounting and reporting can play an important role, providing valuable metrics on user calling behavior and productivity, as well as pinpointing any areas of vulnerability.
Once the network is properly protected, devices may then be managed through MDM solutions and other access and authentication tools. By approaching BYOD security from the inside of the network out to the edges, enterprises can glean the most benefits from mobile users and devices without putting themselves at risk.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi