Last updated at Thu, 31 Aug 2017 14:24:30 GMT

A few years ago BYOD was one of the biggest trends in information security. Fast forward to present day, and mobile devices in the workplace have become the norm. Yet challenges to securing a mobile workforce still remain.

If anything, the situation has become more complex: as consumer hardware increasingly makes its way into the enterprise, we're no longer talking about just phones, laptops, and tablets. Greater numbers of remote workers means that home offices also need to be secured, and the rise of the Internet of Things means that “smart” devices like refrigerators, toasters, and even automobiles can be potential entry points on the home network from which an attacker can pivot. I, for one, travel so much for my job that some days I don't touch a computer, relying primarily on my phone to get work done.

Join us on Wednesday for the second webcast in Rapid7's Cyber Security Awareness Month webcast series:

Work Anywhere: Securing Your Mobile Workforce

October 14th at 11am ET/ 8am PT and 4pm BST

  • Cameron Chavers, Manager of IT Risk Management and Security Team at Mosaic Sales Solutions
  • Tas Giakouminakis, Co-Founder and CTO at Rapid7
  • Bob Lord, CISO in Residence at Rapid7
  • Jerry McCarthy, Senior Security Engineer at Acosta, Inc.

During the discussion we'll touch upon how work environments are changing, as well as tips for coping with the shift. Bob Lord will also share his controversial perspectives on the state of BYOD (hint: he thinks it's fundamentally flawed).

It's important to remember: Whatever the policy, productivity always wins. People will strive to find the quickest and most efficient means of completing a task, and that path may not always align with the preferences of the security and IT teams.

Nevertheless, there are ways in which businesses can gain confidence amidst so much uncertainty. Creating a security-centric culture to which everyone feels they can contribute is an excellent way of minimizing risk, and was explored in a recent webcast. Additionally, knowing what people are doing with systems and on the network is paramount. A strong security strategy should focus on gaining visibility into user behavior across the entire mobile ecosystem, from the endpoint to the cloud, to quickly detect attacks.

We'll drill into all this and more next week. If you have other topic suggestions, I'd love to hear them.