Late last week news broke that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is being sued for distributing a contact tracing app to Android devices without the consent of device owners. Though the motivation for these actions may be benign, the fact that the parties involved have the capability to remotely install software on personal devices is discomforting. Similar instances have been occurring for years in the workplace as more organizations follow the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model with heavy handed management software known as company-managed Mobile Device Management (MDM).
For those unfamiliar with MDM technology, organizations use the software to control devices that are used for work purposes. You want to use work email on your phone? Companies can use an MDM to ensure company data is safe on the employee’s device. The company-managed profile allows the organization to remotely wipe your phone, control business data, along with other capabilities like remotely installing or uninstalling applications. Sound familiar?
There likely isn’t any ill intention when an organization has these capabilities and control, the company’s intent is to protect their data. The best solution to protecting company data cannot mean that the company gets full control and visibility on a personal phone. Bring “Your Own” device and let us control it and let us have access to your family photos, private applications, contact information, payment information, and just about everything else that defines your personal digital life.
At the end of the day it’s the employee’s personal device and if they do not wish to let their company have this type of control, they simply shouldn’t access company information and applications from their personal devices. Workers can also request for the organization to buy them a work phone; but this adds an extra cost back for the organization to buy and maintain a fleet of company-owned devices. With the current solutions produced by the market there is no balance between personal privacy and organizational security, with Q-Scout we are changing this.
We are a trusted arbiter between the organization and the employee. Q-Scout can provide an organization with the security assurances they need while maintaining the personal privacy of the employee. The organization has the ability to set policies which control access to organization data and stays out of their worker’s personal business. This is achieved by avoiding the company-managed MDM profile, and instead the user installs Q-Scout and the company requests the access or control they need (like email, Slack, Zoom, etc.). Need to install a business app on your end users devices or control the business data on their device? Q-Scout provides the end-user with a prompt to accept or deny the access, enabling the employee to decide whether or not they want to continue to use their device for work related purposes. The Quokka difference is that the worker maintains opt-in rights every step of the way. The organization doesn’t get to push any app they want, with Q-Scout, they must ask your permission first.
Save your organization money and avoid buying corporate owned devices by putting the “Your Own” in “Bring Your Own Device”. Want to hear more about how this balance is achieved? Reach out for more information or click here to see how Q-Scout helps protect end user privacy while delivering organizational security.
