How to prevail when technology fails - Flipbook - Page 37
Technology talent acquisition: A new way of working | 37
“Bring your own device”
brings its own risks
Many companies now ask employees to use their
personal devices for work. Commonly known as
“bring your own device” (BYOD), this saves costs –
but it also raises a number of important legal issues.
Even companies that do not encourage BYOD
may find employees using non-work systems to
communicate with each other and with customers.
For example, it has become the norm in some
markets for employees to communicate through
apps such as WeChat and WhatsApp.
You need to help employees understand how
and when to use non-work systems. And if it is
customers that are driving this practice, you
need to provide clear guidance on how employees
should respond.
Where local law permits it, privacy policies could
allow personal devices used for work purposes
to be monitored for activity that might indicate
fraud and accessed in the event of an investigation.
However, in many jurisdictions it is not possible to
require employees to hand over personal devices
for investigations.
The risk here is clear, and more and more clients
are coming to us for help with recovering workrelated communications from personal devices.
There is a balance to strike between the risks of
using platforms that are not part of their own
infrastructure and the benefits of meeting clients’
expectations and saving costs.
“As a South Korean company
that is extremely protective
of our IP, we have to take
extra precautions about the
devices employees use and
their connectivity. Employees
simply cannot access work
systems remotely without
special authorization, and even
within the office you cannot
use the internet without special
permission, or download
anything to a thumb drive,
for example. Our focus on
security adds an extra layer of
complexity, but it is necessary.”
David Delman | Executive Vice President, Head of
International Legal & Commercial Management,
Samsung Engineering