The recent data breach in the Office of Personnel Management (HR for the US federal government) involving over four million people in every US government agency should make HR departments around the world pause to consider if their employees’ mobile communications are secure.
The truth is your employees are probably already exploring different apps on their phones to encrypt their mobile communications, or even make them disappear with apps like Cyber Dust, which causes texts to vanish 24 seconds after they’re read.
So while companies have the disadvantage of being less nimble than individuals, there are ways HR departments can get out in front of this growing issue and insure their employees’ work communications aren’t scraped by hackers. Here are three tips you can implement in your company to reduce the threat of a communications breach.
1. Perform a Risk Assessment
Consult with your IT department and other leaders in your company to uncover your company’s risk level for a data breach. Once you know what kind of risks you’re facing you can begin investigating the best solutions. Without a risk assessment you might sign up for a solution that doesn’t give you enough protection or leaves holes in your data security.
2. Create a Wireless Security Policy
The last thing your company needs is a data breach that was caused by employee error or ignorance. By creating an easy to read wireless security policy for your employees, you can ensure they are following proper acceptable use, password, and encryption best practices. The SANS Institute, an information security organization, has useful templates you can use to create your own wireless security policy.
3. Get Employee Communications on Secure Software
In 2015 there is no excuse for employees to be texting or emailing on unencrypted or unsecure networks. Explore your options for applications that meet your needs or can be customized to your IT department’s requirements. By getting your employees away from SMS and unsecured email apps onto encrypted secure software, you will be able to sleep better at night, knowing your company communication is safe.
As Richard Quattrocchi, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Mutare Software recently wrote, “SMS and Email communications are your company’s greatest electronic security risks — stop using them now for sensitive matters —Sony just learned this lesson the hard way.” Of course, he’s referring to the Sony Pictures hack that left numerous executives red faced after their work emails were exposed to the world. By securing your mobile communications, you can ensure your PR department won’t be going into crisis mode on your watch.
Are you looking for a secure communication tool for your company? Get in touch with us to find out more about Beekeeper – mobile communication tool for teams, and we’ll be more than happy to show you how you can reach and engage your remote employees in a simple and secure way.
