The concept of "bring your own device" – BYOD, in which agencies accept that their employees are using personal electronics such as smart phones and laptops to conduct agency business introduces a host of legal and security issues that need to be understood and addressed, argues a new white paper from Route1 Inc.
Route1 is a digital security and identity management company that counts DoD and DHS as customers. It has released a report "Avoiding BYOD Legal Issues," that outlines potential legal issues with employees using, for example, their iPhones to run mission-specific apps or for work email.
According to the company, "The legality of the common practice of remotely wiping or tracking an employee’s mobile device while asking workers to sign waivers giving their consent for such a policy remains highly ambiguous, as there is little to no case law in this area."
The company also said that unions are likely to get involved given privacy concerns about tracking and the loss of personal data or employer access to personal data on employees’ devices."The policy of tracking and wiping an employee’s personal device opens the enterprise up to the potential for mass litigation," asserted Route1 CEO Tony Busseri.
The company offers mobile device management – MDM, software called MobiKEY, that it says allows employees to work on personal devices while keeping work data behind the company or agency firewall and eliminating the need to wipe or track employee devices.
Go to http://www.route1.com/thought-leadership.html for the white paper.