Having a personal cell is one of the easiest ways to connect to all of the things you need to in the digital world. However, it also creates a portal to your personal data. If you are using your cell phone for business related purposes, then your business applications also create a portal to your business data. One of the many things overlooked in any business is when someone does use their personal cell phone to conduct work.
Any device that you use for business purposes that connects to the internet is susceptible of getting hacked. Just a few days ago a client called stating that their personal cell phone may have been hacked. They were afraid because they also conduct business on their cell phone. They were scared their business email also got hacked through their cell phone.
After analyzing the phone. It was clear they did download a virus. The first thing we asked was “Did you click on something you shouldn’t have?” Their answer was “I went onto my Facebook app, there was an ad about houses nearby, and I clicked on it. And ever since then my phone has been acting funny and I can’t conduct any business on my phone because my email stopped working. It keeps telling me I have a virus and to download software to resolve the issue.”
If you are using any personal device such as your cell phone, laptop, or tablet to conduct business it’s always good to inform your company and I.T. vendor. They can apply software on those devices to help manage and mitigate issues when they arise. There is a saying that goes “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission”. However, in this case, which involves your business data, it is better to ask for permission than to ask for forgiveness.
If your device does gets hacked and you have portals leading to your personal and business data, the amount of time it takes to resolve the issue results in loss of productive time and money. That is something you don’t want to happen. What if the hacker used your phone to get to your business email, then used your email to get to the server. We don’t ever stop to think how a hacker can get from one point to the other, but we need to mindful that anything that accesses the internet is susceptible of an intrusion. Don’t be that person that compromises your company’s data and or network.
Contact C Three Business Consultants today to protect your phone, your personal data, and your business data.