Android is currently the most popular operating system, with over 2 billion active users worldwide. The affordable pricing, high compatibility with third-party applications, and large variety are the reasons why Android devices are preferred by people and businesses over other OS types. Modern-day businesses that prioritize corporate security would agree that Android devices and Android MDM go hand in hand. With the evolving landscape of cyber threats, attempting to manage thousands of company-owned or BYO Android devices is a challenging task for businesses. Android MDM helps company IT admins simplify their Android device management and helps keep business-critical data stored on employees’ Android devices safe.
What Is Android MDM?
Android MDM is a platform that helps company IT admins manage thousands of Android endpoints effortlessly. It is the best way to secure your Android devices with extensive company policies and gain wider visibility of your devices. Managing hundreds and thousands of Android devices, provisioning them with business-friendly apps and resources, securing them against external threats, and ensuring compliance with company policies is a humongous IT task. Android MDM solutions allow IT admins to perform all these actions from a single dashboard.
What Are The Threats To Data Security?
Data is a company’s most valuable asset. It empowers businesses to strategize their roadmap, analyze the current trends and identify opportunities and pitfalls. Unfortunately, this is also the reason why data thefts and breaches have increased. There are several laws and acts around the world such as the European GDPR that are designed to ensure data protection.
Unfortunately, most businesses fail to understand that security threats are not always external. Businesses are aware of external security threats such as malware attacks, phishing, viruses, trojans, etc. But most data breaches happen as a result of insider threats. Accidental data leakage by an employee, improper security hygiene such as the use of poor passwords or connecting to untrusted WiFi, etc. can land your business in serious legal and financial trouble.
How Do MDM Solutions Help In Keeping Your Android Device Data Safe?
Employees accessing corporate emails, downloading business files, and storing them on their Android smartphones or tablets is a common practice, especially if your employees are using their personal devices for work. Android MDM solutions allow IT admins to configure extensive settings to secure device data and ensure minimal risk of data breaches.
Here’s how you can keep your data safe with the help of Android MDM:
1. Protect Your Android Devices Against Unauthorized Access
Company IT admins can configure strong passcode policies that define the strength, complexity, and duration of password renewal for the employees using their MDM dashboard. With this, employees are encouraged to maintain strong password hygiene which acts as the first line of defense against data theft. You can also opt for more sophisticated Android MDM solutions like Scalefusion which offer exceptional features like Conditional Email Access which prevents unauthorized access to business emails.
2. Ensure Data Protection From External Threats
Modern-day hackers make extensive use of the internet to spread malware of various kinds. With advancements in technology, it has become even more difficult to distinguish between a genuine and a malicious website. Android MDM solutions allow you to push security settings such as VPN configurations, WiFi, and hotspot settings to ensure that your employees use trusted networks. Moreover, IT admins can allow or block specific websites on their employees’ devices using their MDM dashboard to ensure a safe browsing experience.
3. Prevent Copying of Sensitive Business Information
Insider threats are more prevalent compared to external security threats when it comes to corporate data breaches. Employees leaving your organization may intentionally copy business information and trade secrets from their work apps to their personal apps with an intention of leaking sensitive data. Android MDM allows businesses to protect their information on BYO devices by preventing screenshots, disabling USB slots, and blocking the copy and pasting of data from work apps to private apps.
4. Data Protection In Event Of Device Loss
Remote working certainly helps businesses improve their productivity and employee satisfaction. But, it also increases the risk of device and data theft/loss. Gone are the days when employees worked in limited office spaces with desktops and PCs. Today, employees can work from public places, resorts, cafes, et. using their mobile devices such as smartphones and laptops. These mobile devices are of a compact nature and are easily prone to be misplaced or stolen.
What happens to the data if your employees’ smartphone gets stolen? Android MDMs allow you to secure Android smartphones with capabilities such as remote device locking. Some powerful Android MDMs also allow their corporate data to be remotely wiped off the devices in events of theft. Most businesses prefer encrypting their confidential information to ensure that even if the devices are lost or stolen, strangers cannot take advantage of their business-critical data.
5. Ensure The Use Of Trusted Apps
Mobile phones are not just a means of voice communication anymore. They can now be powered with a line of public and private apps with which business can enhance their operational efficiency. Unfortunately, these mobile apps present a large attack surface for hackers. The inability to distinguish between genuine and malicious apps can infect your employees’ smartphones with malware. Android MDM solutions not only help company IT admins distribute trusted public and enterprise apps on their employees’ devices but also create app configs and ensure timely app updates.
Powerful Android MDMs offer businesses the capability to lock their Android devices in Kiosk Mode. IT admins to push a single trusted, or multiple selective apps on employees’ devices. This minimizes the risk of shadow IT and also minimizes distractions for employees. Android Kiosk Mode ensures that all other apps are automatically disabled and only the pre-selected apps are allowed to run on the employees’ devices.
Closing Lines
Enterprise mobility is here to stay and with it, the use of mobile devices to store and exchange information is sure to increase. Android devices make an excellent choice in terms of costs and flexibility of use. Putting a strong Android MDM in place can allow businesses to deploy their Android devices and endpoints for versatile business applications with confidence.
