Security Considerations with Wider Use of Cloud and BYOD Solutions
July 25, 2012
Ed OBrien
Mercator Advisory Group
American Banker recently noted Ponemon Institute and Palo Alto Networks surveys that indicate an increasing number of employees, some of whom work at financial services organizations, are using Internet-sharing sites to store company information.
Sites like Dropbox or YouSendIt often are used as a method to save backup files as some companies do not provide backup services for employees working remotely or when traveling. Employees can save their files to such sites, which are in the cloud, for retrieval at another time and place.
Similarly, as some companies are moving away from having a corporate standard for smartphones and other connected devices, many are in effect creating a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environment, where employees can access company files and systems via their own personal devices.
Even though employees in both of these scenarios may have the best of intentions in mind, unintended consequences can occur. Examples include the possibility of lost data or files, data breaches, file synchronization errors, and inconsistencies of files caused by version control issues. This is why financial institutions should institute (or reiterate) corporate policies on the use, sharing, and backup of company data on all devices at all locations.