Did you know that 36% of frontline workers use a personal device to perform work-related tasks?1
IT staff know that using personal devices poses many security risks, but the practice is still widespread in many businesses. Do you have frontline workers in your organisation? Do you have the right technology in place to keep them safe at work? In this blog, we will look at the importance of solutions to enable and secure a frontline workforce.
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Who are frontline workers?Frontline employees have first or direct contact with your end customers. They are the driving force in various sectors such as healthcare, education, government institutions and utilities. Frontline workers don’t have a fixed workstation and often work remote locations or in the field.
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One of the most important tasks for an IT manager is to secure company data. It is becoming increasingly complex as more and more employees access the company network via their personal devices. This is especially true in organisations with large numbers of frontline workers. What is the security strategy within your business?
A safer working environment
A step towards a more secure working environment is to look closely at your current device management. When evaluating the security of your device management, consider the following points:
- Do employees use their own devices, or do they use devices provided by the organisation?
- Does everyone have their own device or do several workers share a single device?
- Do employees take their devices home or leave them in a secure location in the workplace?
One of the most common and fastest-growing attack vectors is ransomware. In 2021, 37% of all organisations were victims of a ransomware attack. 32% of them paid the ransomware sum. Unfortunately, only 65% of them got their data back. It costs an organisation an average of €1.73 million to recover from a ransomware attack2. This is why it’s vital to ensure that your business has the best possible protection. The basis of a solid ransomware defence is ensuring devices are correctly configured and secured. Device management for frontline workers should be a priority.
Involve frontline workers in your digitisation
88% of all organisations have frontline workers, but they are often overlooked as part of digitalisation initiatives. 1 out of 3 frontline employees indicate that they do not have the right technology to do their job properly3. This does not only causes loss of productivity but also potential security vulnerabilities.
As described above, 36% of frontline workers use personal devices to do their job. This can be detrimental to your organisation. A personal device comes with a lot of apps installed, which might not be in line with your mobile device policy. If one of your employees is hacked via an unsecured app, this could have a disastrous effect on your entire organisation.
1 query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4FC60
2 cloudwards.net/ransomware-statistics/
3 microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/technology-unlocks-a-new-future-for-frontline