BYOD has created new challenges for those employers who encourage their employees to buy their own cell phones, tablet devices, and/or computers. After a recent discussion about BYOD my good friend Galen Gruman (Executive Editor of InfoWorld for Features) posted an InfoWorld blog “Lost in BYOD’s uncharted legal waters” which includes many important legal and business issues.
Before posting the blog Galen wrote an excellent 29 page report called the “BYOD and Mobile Strategy Deep Dive” which has the following summary:
iPhones, iPads, Androids, and more are joining your business’s suite of technology tools, driven by user demand and need. Most companies have opened up their networks to such devices, but big questions remain on how to do so securely, how to manage the new breed of devices to ensure compliance and information security while not unduly burdening users.
A 2010 US Supreme Court 9-0 ruling declared that employees are not entitled to privacy if they use an employer’s issued device, so what level of privacy is there for BYODs? Will employees using BYODs be entitled to privacy if they are conducting business for their employers? Or will the employees using BYODs be entitled to privacy if the employer reimburses the employee for the cost(s) of the BYOD?
Interesting questions and in the future the Courts will let us know….so stay tuned.