Go anywhere these days and you will see people on smart phones. In fact, many companies require employees to have a smart phone so they can communicate with customers and people in the company, no matter where they are, almost instantly. However, with such devices also come security concerns.
It is important that employers take steps to secure information that is transmitted through smart phones from risks such as wayward applications employees may download, intentional efforts by others, including competitors, to gain access to sensitive or proprietary information, and inadvertent disclosure of such information.
Such protections should include requiring employees to have their phones password-protected and use an automatic lock after a set period of time. In addition, companies should advise employees to make sure that they only connect to secure networks, even when accessed remotely through their smart phone.
Employees need to ensure that others do not access their smart phones and the sensitive work-related information contained on them, including through alert notifications that may appear on the screen when the phone is locked. Companies should provide clear direction and training to employees in terms of what they need to do in order to keep this information secure in order to ensure that sensitive information is not improperly or inadvertently disclosed.
Lastly, employers should advise employees on limits in terms of what types of applications (apps), if any, they may download on to their phone, as many apps are not secure and may access other information on the phone, or may be something more sinister, designed to intentionally access other information on the phone.
While smart phones have become a way of life for most employees and are a great tool for employees to communicate with others even when away from the office, they also present potential security risks. Employers need to train their employees as to what is and is not safe to do with their smart phones and take steps to ensure that information that is sensitive in nature and communicated through smart phones remains secure. In addition, these guidelines should be adopted in the employee handbook so the company may take disciplinary action against an employee, when appropriate, if an employee fails to abide by such procedures.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Employment Log (EPELog) is a publication of the KingSpry Employment Law Practice Group. Jeffrey T. Tucker, Esquire, is our editor-in-chief. EPELog is meant to be informational and does not constitute legal advice.
