Using Microsoft EMS with your BYOD policy implementation

Setting up a bring your own device (BYOD) option for your business is an effective way to increase the flexibility and efficiency of your operations, as well as attract new and tech-savvy talent. BYOD is not without its fair share of risks, but these can be managed effectively if you invest in a solution that lets you access your emails and other work-related data securely while on the go.
 
Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) is one such solution. Besides enabling smooth and seamless collaboration and transfer of company data, it ensures the confidentiality of your business information, even when it is accessed through your employees’ personal computers or mobile devices.
 
Microsoft EMS is one of the core components of Microsoft Office 365 and is composed of several smaller products. Of these, Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory (AD) are crucial to ensuring secure mobile access to your business data. If you combine these with Outlook Mobile for iOS and Android, you’ll have a formidable mobile security solution that can do the following:
 

1. Prevent email scams

Around 90 percent of data breaches are caused by phishing scams, which are often spread via email. Train your employees to identify the characteristics of a phishing email. But considering how these scams have only become increasingly convincing over the years, you would get better results if you prevented phishing emails from reaching your staff’s inbox in the first place.
 
Outlook for iOS and Android has built-in filters that block incoming spam and phishing emails. It also has add-ins that enhance its already robust security features. The Phish Alert Button (PAB), which allows users to report suspicious emails in both their computer and mobile inbox, is one of these add-ins. Outlook for mobile also integrates effortlessly with both Intune and Azure AD to expand its capabilities further.
 

2. Block suspicious email addresses

Your employees need to sign in to Azure AD to access your company’s assets stored within Azure, including database and application servers, files, and emails. For them to do this, they must first have an Azure AD profile, which they can log into using any internet-capable device.
 
You can take advantage of Azure AD’s Conditional Access (CA) policies, which prevent apps or people from gaining access if they don’t comply with certain prerequisites. For instance, the service may require multifactor authentication (MFA) before permitting anyone to access your company’s network or files.
 
You can also use CA to limit access to personal devices that are registered with the service. This effectively filters out suspicious devices. Should any of your staff lose their personal device, you can use CA to revoke the said device’s credentials and prevent it from being used to access your data.
 

3. Contain your corporate data

Microsoft Intune acts as a secure link between your company’s data and your employees’ devices. It allows users to download and process files securely while blocking the access of untrustworthy apps, devices, and users. One of the greatest benefits of using Microsoft Intune is that it does all this without needing complete control over the users’ devices, which means your employees can smoothly transition between doing work-related and personal tasks on the same device.
 
Microsoft Intune also features app protection policies that can be applied to specific apps. Any app that has a policy applied to it can be managed by Intune. You can set the policy to prevent or prohibit the transfer of corporate information outside of managed apps, preventing data leakage. By applying a protection policy to Outlook for iOS and Android, for instance, you allow your staff to exchange information and collaborate freely, without fear that corporate data is being clandestinely collected by malicious parties.
 
SimplyClouds is an expert in Microsoft Cloud and other cloud-based solutions. Contact us today to understand how you can get started with Microsoft 365 and get the most out of it.