Device Security Best Practices
A big part of managing a business fleet today is keeping your team connected through mobile devices and home computers. With your drivers all connected by phones, tablets, and in-vehicle computers; device security has become essential. From drivers to dispatch, it's important for every member of your team to understand device security and the potential risk if company devices are hacked, interfered with, or if customer data is somehow exposed along the way.
The best way to keep your team and your data safe are by implementing a few best practices for device security. You don't have to be a security expert to help your team secure their phones and protect their logins.
Create Strong Passwords
Password security is more serious than anyone is capable of taking it. We've heard about strong passwords for so long that few people pay attention anymore. But a good password - one with letters, numbers, and symbols - is not hard to make. All you need is a funny acronym.
Help your team build a strong password by using an acronym. Build an amusing sentence - the funnier the easier to remember - and break it down into the starting letters. Then break the letters down into a few numbers, caps, and symbols. Then you have a nearly unbreakable password that is surprisingly easy to remember.
- Example:
- The Sentence "This is my new extra awesome secret password"
- Becomes "t!mn3@5P"
Activate 2-Factor Authentication
Always use two-factor authentication for every possible account and method. Most hackers are "door rattlers" looking for an easy way in. if you give them any security to slow them down, often the hacker or malware will look elsewhere. Two-factor authentication makes stealing your account more difficult.
It will also alert you if someone tries to steal your account and fails, by sending you the authentication email or message. Types of two-factor authentication include biometrics, diagram drawing, picture selecting, and security questions.
Use Biometrics
Have your team use their own eyes and fingerprint for device unlock codes. This significantly reduces the chances that someone will be able to pick up a phone and start browsing. Biometrics has come miles since the original fingerprint scanners decades ago. Today, your phone's power button and your laptop's touchpad can read fingerprints and any camera can become an eye/face scanner.
Program in multiple fingers and your favored thumb to make unlocking especially quick and convenient.
Remove Stored Data
Do not let old temporary and app data stay on your devices. Regularly clear your device storage and app-stored data. This will not only make your device run faster, it will also remove any opportunity to malware or spyware to colonize your phone. Get rid of old apps and programs you don't need anymore. Download any important photos from your phone and delete the rest. Storing personal or professional data on a device only puts it at risk.
Disable Lock-Screen Widgets
On your lock screen, remove all interactive widgets. Cut the notifications, the quick apps, and your smart home personality. All those create opportunities for a determined person to access your phone through the lock screen features. If someone can tap a quick button or swipe into your notifications, they have potential access to the phone and may be able to read your data or change your settings.
Without lock-screen widgets, your phone stays completely locked until you unlock it without anything but the clock on the lock screen to interact with.
Mobile devices have become an essential part of the modern business fleet. From drivers on route to dispatchers who can work from home, mobile devices give your team the flexibility they need to stay in touch no matter what the circumstances. Everyone's mobile devices need to be more secure now that they are used constantly for business matters. For more insights on fleet management and technological solutions, contact us today.
