BYOD Could Spell Bring Your Own Disaster

Technology executives need to thoroughly investigate what could go wrong with their mobile strategies before implementation - or risk “bringing their own disaster.”

That’s according to Tim Grieveson, security firm G4S risk management CIO, speaking at a CIO UK community event.

Grieveson used examples of worst-case scenarios of his staff being careless with data and in devices to support his arguments.

“Mobility is incredibly important, but it’s not about the device. It’s about accessing it on the right device, at the right place and at the right time,” he claimed.

“You can absolutely have a consumer device, but with it you are going get consumer support.

“People about BYOD (bring your own device) or CYOD (choose your own device) – but I call BYOD, Bring Your Own Disaster, if you haven’t thought about the fallout of that going wrong,” Grieveson went on to warn.

Mobility In Hostile Environments

Grieveson explained to delegates the context of his BYOD fears.

His arm of G4S sees him overseeing 11,000 people, many working in hostile environments like Iraq and Afghanistan, with his team having to frequently transport high value assets in these areas, such as people, vehicle and sensitive information.

Grieveson says because of this, he tries to take a “device-agnostic” approach to mobility, particularly because he claims his industry has a habit of saying no.

“We look at the way to enable the device, rather disable it. A lot of our people are former special forces; they can strip an automatic weapon - but might not be as good with technology,” he said.

“So they need a device that works when and how they want it do..”

The G4S exec also added that he was involved in a new messaging and mobility programme working across all of the arms of his employer.

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