Federal Employees and the BYOD Trend

CDW-G recently released a Federal Mobility Report looking into how US Federal employees use mobile devices. Given the mandate to limit agency-purchased data devices, and the growing BYOD trend, this report gives insight into how Federal employees are using mobile devices in the workplace. The report also touches on agency security preparedness for the increase of employee-owned devices.

Insights from the report:

• 62% of agencies allow employees to use personal devices for work; more than 40% of employees do so
• 89% of Federal employees who use a mobile device for work say it makes them more productive
  
• Security measures deployed include encryption (82%), multi-factor authentication (54%), remote lock and wipe (45%) and GPS (20%), among others (see above)
• 71% of Federal IT professionals include mobile device management (MDM) in their security efforts
  

According to the report, agencies understand the need for security for mobile devices, though current security efforts are baseline only. Current security technologies deployed, along with training and policies, may not be enough to protect sensitive data accessed via mobile devices.

To learn about how to manage the security & risks of a BYOD policy, read our white paper here.