Why Archive Mobile Communications?
With the rapid increase of mobile devices permeating workplaces, it is imperative that organizations of all types and sizes archive mobile communications. The bring your own device (BYOD) trend is going to continue to be a challenge for years to come. In order for organizations to be ready for today’s mobile device infiltration and for what is coming, the top five reasons to archive mobile communications are detailed here.
1. Increased Mobile Device Data.
More people are using mobile devices as shown in these statistics:
- Average smartphone usage grew 81 percent in 2012.
- Mobile-connected tablets increased nearly threefold to 36 million in 2012
- Global mobile data traffic grew 70 percent in 2012.
- By the end of 2013 there will be more mobile connected devices than people on earth
- By 2017 global mobile data traffic will increase 13-fold.
This increased traffic means that organizations must be prepared the fact that their workforce is communicating via mobile devices.
2. Employees Misuse.
Employees use their devices for both work and personal use. This mixed usage can create a situation where an employee could potentially share confidential or sensitive information and may allow an employee to participate in inappropriate communications that could be tied back to their organization. By monitoring mobile device usage through archiving, employee misuse can be reduced or eliminated.
3. Data Leakage.
Mobile device usage can cause data to be leaked from an organization. This data sharing can be inadvertent or malignant. A 2011 McAfee and Carnegie Mellon University survey found that most employees are not thinking enough about protecting corporate data when using these devices. Here are a few more findings from the survey:
- One in three employees polled kept sensitive work-related information on their mobile devices.
- Two-thirds of employees were not aware of their organizations’ policies, even though 95 percent of companies have mobile-security policies in place to protect enterprise data.
- Most of the companies reported that their employees do not understand how permissions and other access settings work on their mobile devices.
- 63 percent of work-issued mobile devices were being used by employees for personal activities.
4. Regulation Compliance.
Government regulations, including, FINRA, SEC, FERPA, the Freedom of Information Act, sunshine laws, HIPAA, HITECH and FRCP, to name a few, require organizations to archive mobile communications. However, even with these regulations many organizations do not archive mobile messaging content. This lack of compliance can lead to fines, sanctions and litigation.
5. Policy Oversight.
Organizations must have acceptable use policies for mobile communications. These policies need to outline what is and is not allowed for personal and corporate-owned devices in the workplace. Employees must be trained on these policies. By monitoring and archiving mobile communications, organizations will have the ability to have oversight on employee mobile device usage.
Click Here for more information about the need to archive mobile text messages, and for a free PDF detailing the reasons for mobile archiving.
