According to new research, Britons will buy 2.5 million mobile phones, 1.25 million MP3 players and 2.5 million digital cameras over the next six months. Great news for the manufacturers electronic gadgets, but perhaps not so welcome for IT managers who are trying to stop these devices being connected to the corporate network.
Thanks to their plug and play abilities, it has never been easier for computer users to get information off the network or to introduce unwanted content (whether it is ‘innocent’ content like holoiday snaps and music, or more malicious spyware and viruses) onto company-owned PCs.
And while some organizations employ a total ban on these kinds of devices in the workplace, few can find it a workable solution - especially when they are now so prolific. For those companies without armed guards and x-ray machines on the door, a much more sensible solution is to automatically allow or block the connection of different devices according to the individual’s security privileges. Then IT managers won’t need to worry if employees buy one million or ten million new MP3 players, they’ll still be kept safely at arm’s length from the network.
