INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
Staff ignoring rules on which
apps to use in the workplace
pose threats
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E
mployees are putting their businesses at
risk of cyberattacks by refusing to obey
the rules when it comes to the apps they
use in the workplace, according to Maintel, the
cloud and managed services specialist. them breaking the rules. In fact, Maintel’s
research found that usage is on the rise, with
use of WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram
increasing significantly over the past three
years – 30%, 27% and 33% respectively.
Workers have confessed to using
unapproved apps in the office, including
Instagram, Facebook Messenger and
Snapchat, to communicate with colleagues
as well as friends and family. For example,
four in 10 employees (41%) admit to
using Instagram for more than two hours
each day, despite the app being banned in
almost half of UK organisations. Staff told us that apps like WhatsApp offer
ease of use (84%), speed of response
(44%) and informality (35%) in the
workplace. This highlights that businesses
need to implement more apps that meet
their workers’ needs.
The majority of employees are well aware
that certain apps are not approved for
workplace use, but this hasn’t stopped
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But, while employees may be continuing
to break the rules, using these unapproved
apps is a danger for many businesses. The
risks of using undocumented, unsecure
apps should be obvious enough – especially
in light of GDPR.
Rufus Grig, CTO at Maintel, said: “If this
research tells us one thing, it’s that while
organisations can go ahead and prohibit
the use of as many tools as they like, this will
never be enough to actually make this vision
a reality.
“Businesses need to recognise that
employees are still using these tools in
the knowledge they are unauthorised and
make a conscious effort to understand
why. Employers need to ensure the
communication needs of a multi-
generational workforce are catered for. To do
this, it’s clear we need to invest more time
into making sure that approved tools offer
the best user experience possible, or offering
platforms that are motivating, compelling
and easy to use in the workplace.” n
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