Over the past 30 years we have made some incredible strides in the cell phone arena. I’m pretty sure most of us can do an entire day’s work from our phones which is a huge change from the ol’ bag phones we used to have to lug around.

But, without the right protection put in place, working from your cool, modern cell phone poses a huge security threat to your business.

In the past two years, nearly 28% of businesses have begun viewing mobile cybersecurity as a much higher priority and that number is only expected to rise over the next two years. Many businesses feel their security is up to industry standards; but unfortunately, most times, that’s not the case. Technology error makes up for 45% of security breaches while human error makes up for 55%. So, as if we don’t mess it up enough, all these new innovative technology initiatives rolling out like cloud computing and BYOD are also responsible for the increase in mobile cyber-attacks.

Top 3 reasons for mobile security occurrences:

Mobile malware

Lost/stolen devices

Disabled security features

It’s a colossal risk to put sensitive data (business, financial, and personal) in the hands of someone unable to recognize potential security threats. Make sure you’ve trained your employees before giving them access to information on their mobile device.

ASG TIP: keep your phone and apps up to date and always use a passcode!

When you’re choosing phones for your employees, choose wisely. Make sure you choose devices for your employees that have the best built-in security controls. This type of protection starts at the passcode to enter into your phone, so make sure it’s not too obvious. But, sometimes the passcode doesn’t provide the right type of protection. Phones with good security offer the capability of encrypting stored information.

Have no idea what we’re talking about? Learn how to make sure encryption is on (iPhones and Androids), check out this article.

Another thing you want to remember is to turn off Bluetooth when it’s not in use. That means completely disable and switch transmission to hidden mode. Old and out-of-date Bluetooth technology have large security holes which opens up your conversations to eavesdropping or someone taking control of that portion of your device. On this same note, an extra precaution you can take would be setting your browser to “Do Not Track” (both Chrome and Safari offer this).

Lastly, in case of emergency, it’s important that you have a way to remotely wipe the phone clean in the case of a lost or stolen device. Don’t forget to have your employee regularly back up any personal information on their device in case it gets wiped. Make sure that you have a communication plan set up for this person to let IT know that their phone needs to be wiped.