Today’s workforce is armed with laptops, iPhones, iPads, BlackBerries … all good devices to make sure you’re there even when you’re not there. Volcano got you down? No problem! Fire up your hologram projector and beam yourself into the meeting. Okay, we’re not doing holograms on that scale (yet,) but high-speed mobile access is becoming more common and available in more and more places.

But look at all those devices running amok. How much control does your company place on mobile access? Some would just say to ban all those devices. They’re too big of a threat to internal security if someone can walk away with data on their iPod. But ever since the dawn of the personal computer, we’ve had removable media (cassette-tape, 5 ¼” Floppy, 3 ½” Floppy), and now we have the ubiquitous thumb-drive. So the portable nature of data has always been there. It’s just on a grander scale now.

Consider enterprise-level tools for the mobile workforce. RIM Corporation has been on the enterprise scope for several years with their BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server). But did you know Apple provides Enterprise support for the iPhone? Check out their guide here as well as other resources on the Apple Web site. And it’s important to properly educate yourself and your staff on proper mobile device use. Always have a password set to unlock the device. And with an enterprise solution, you can immediately remove access to email messages if someone loses their phone.

Set a policy about the types of portable data your employees are allowed to take offsite using portable devices. A good rule of thumb is “no confidential information is stored on anyone’s laptop, thumb drive or other portable device.” Set-up a secure portal for access to such data, such as SharePoint or another secure-access service.

The upside of the mobile revolution is access-on-the-go. With the demands of today’s businesses, its workers need to have the flexibility to be connected when they’re otherwise counting ceiling tiles in the airport or caught in the endless lines at the DMV. Since mobile Web-browsers are able to securely Web sites, including workforce management sites, even busy HR managers can handle tasks when they’re not at their desks.

There’s a crook out there thinking of ways to make a quick buck, and identity theft is at the top of his list. The Internet has revolutionized the way your employees access their own information. They can see their last paycheck, make a change to their benefits or submit an updated W-4 form for withholdings.

Those who conceived the Internet assumed a Utopian culture where free-flowing information would only be used for good. Yet the real world is far more perilous. Today’s world requires a high level of security, and Internet security is no exception.

How secure is your approach to data protection? You’ve probably overheard the IT people talking in the hallway using terms like “patching the minimal server configuration” and “intrusion prevention systems.” And what you’re really hearing is something like Charlie Brown’s teacher speaking. Do you feel your employees’ information is safe and secure?

When evaluating an on-demand solution, look for these important points:
- Employee data is encrypted when it travels over the Internet
- The vendor uses multiple levels of network security to isolate potential threats
- All servers are “hardened” (i.e. have minimally installed) operating systems; regular updates (patching) is performed
- A SAS70 Type II independent audit report is available and performed by a reputable firm at least once a year
- Security-threat monitoring systems are implemented and have 24-by-7 coverage
- Backups are created; and backups of those backups are also created

While considering a solution for protecting your data, keep in mind that security starts at the desktop. Anti-virus software has become a standard program installed on every corporate computer. This program compares incoming email messages to a list of known “signatures” and attempts to block any known threat it matches. But there’s something else you have to watch: “social engineering” threats. These threats often arrive in the form of an email that attempts to trick you into clicking a link or opening an attachment, which can then avert the best security measures.

Cisco Systems provides a good whitepaper about this topic here . The best practice is to avoid opening any attachment or clicking any link without first knowing who it came from and that you were expecting to receive it.

Contact Ascentis today for more information about secure on-demand HRIS and payroll solutions.

Mike Cross is Director of IT and Operations at Ascentis. He has 15 years of experience with systems and security, and has also worked as a software engineer on the Ascentis Payroll product.