Solve these 3 Common Mobile Working Cybersecurity Issues with Microsoft Intune

23/08/2022

Over the past few years, the pandemic has seen organisations make the move to hybrid working at a record pace. With the hybrid work model here to stay, there is a growing need to improve cyber resilience as corporate networks no longer have fixed perimeters.

Increasingly, organisations are relying on mobile devices and adopting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies to allow employees the flexibility to work from any location. Although these mobile devices such as, mobile phones, tablets, and laptops allow us to stay productive on the go, their use can provide easy targets for cybercriminals. 

Did you know?

40% of security breaches are due to lost or stolen devices	57% of users have downloaded unsafe apps or content	1 in 4 former employees still have access to files at their previous workplace

To mitigate these cyber risks and to support staff, organisations need to rethink the way they manage cybersecurity for mobile devices.

How do we keep digital devices and data secure now the modern workforce is much more mobile?

Having the correct security processes and enforcement policies in place can ensure corporate networks, apps and data are being managed and used securely. A cloud-based service such as Microsoft Intune can help your IT team securely manage your mobile environment with ease. Read along to find out what Microsoft Intune is, what it does and how it can help solve some of the most common cybersecurity issues related to mobile working and data access.

What is Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a secure cloud-based tool that allows for remote mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM). Forming a part of Microsoft Endpoint Manager, it allows you to control how your organisation’s devices are used. The below diagram illustrates how Microsoft Intune secures, deploys, and manages all users, apps, and devices within a borderless corporate network.

As Intune integrates with other Microsoft services, it offers the ability to configure specific policies to control applications across iOS, Windows, and Android devices. This means you can protect your organisation’s critical data and systems by controlling how your employees access and share it. A vitally important factor when today’s hybrid workforce is using a range of digital devices in a variety of locations.

Microsoft Intune Features and Benefits

Set rules and configure policies for company devices or BYOD	Deploy and authenticate apps to multiple mobile devices from any location	Protect company data by controlling how users access and share information
Ensure devices are compliant with your organisation’s security policies	Remote data wiping allows devices to be reset before they are handed to a new user, or when a device has been lost or stolen	Easy device inventory management allows you to track all devices within your organisation’s corporate network

3 Common Mobile Working Cybersecurity Issues Microsoft Intune can Help Solve

Taking advantage of Microsoft Intune’s core features allows you to securely make use of corporate and BYO mobile devices, while reducing the threat of a potential data breach. Below we discuss the common mobile working cybersecurity threats that Intune can help prevent.

> Protect Cloud Email and Data

1 in 323 emails sent to small and medium businesses are malicious. Microsoft Intune helps safeguard your organisation from these cyber threats by allowing email and data access to Intune enrolled devices only. This bolsters your cybersecurity as employees are only able to access their professional emails and data using a device that is compliant with the procedures and controls you set. An example of this could be requiring multi-factor authentication and device enrolment with Intune before access to emails or data is allowed. 

Intune allows your IT team to manage data security for work from home, corporate-issued and BYOD devices more efficiently. This means there is greater control over who can access data and what they can access. Automated bulk provisioning and management of devices reduces the burden on your IT team, freeing up their time to focus on more strategic projects.

> Provide Secure Homeworking

A quarter of UK workers now enjoy the benefits of hybrid working. Securely managing endpoints located outside the protection of a company firewall can present additional cybersecurity challenges for organisations. 71% of UK security decision-makers said they are fighting to keep up with the volume of security threats that the hybrid model has created.

Offering seamless integration with Azure Active directory, Intune allows for the enforcement of access policies to help keep corporate networks safe despite a user’s location. Your organisation can define the conditions that access is granted. These can be based on user, location, encrypted device, or app, ensuring compliance requirements are met. This means no matter where an employee is based you can be assured that they are accessing your networks and data securely.

> Limit Microsoft 365 Access to Corporate Owned Devices

Mobile workers need anytime, anywhere access to corporate data and apps, but security needs to remain a high priority. As previously mentioned, 40% of security breaches are due to lost or stolen devices.

Intune allows organisations to lockdown access to Microsoft 365 (M365) apps to enrolled corporate owned devices only. Blocking unmanaged devices from accessing M365 apps protects networks from security breaches should an employee misplace a device or leave an organisation. If an employee leaves or a device is no longer needed, is missing, or is repurposed, it can be removed with ease using wipe, retire, or manually unenrolling the device.

Whilst Microsoft Intune can help provide a secure BYOD program, at NCI we advise our customers to opt to issue corporate owned devices. BYOD can raise several data protection, cybersecurity, and privacy concerns which could leave your organisation vulnerable to data breaches, cyberattacks or infringe on an employee’s privacy.

Upgrade to Microsoft 365 with a Leading Microsoft Partner

Access the additional security benefits of Microsoft Intune by upgrading to M365 for Business. Offering a flexible and cost-effective licencing plan and no need for additional infrastructure, Intune will help reduce the time spent on secure device management. 

As a leading Microsoft Partner serving Cornwall, Devon and the South West, NCI Technologies can assess your needs and help you choose the right Microsoft plan for your organisation.  For more information on the benefits of deploying Intune, contact one of our Microsoft experts today!

BACK