Smart professionals know—maybe many learned the hard way—never to keep data in a single location. Although the temptation exists—insidiously alluring with its seduction of ease—to simply store files, especially work in progress, on a Mac desktop or in a local documents folder, phones are lost, iPads are stolen and Mac drives can fail. With such events, all locally stored information is lost and, at worst (if you’re not taking advantage of file encryption and device security features), available to unauthorized users.

Apple iCloud and Microsoft OneDrive provide elegant, cost-effective solutions to the problem and help prevent lost data. The question is no longer whether you should be using a cloud file storage solution, but which one. Find out more in this free TechRepublic PDF download.

More and more users are conducting business on mobile devices. This can be due to increases in remote workers, travel, global workforces, or just being on-the-go. This policy provides guidelines for mobile device security needs in order to protect businesses and their employees from security threats.

From the policy

Summary

Mobile devices are commonly used to conduct company business which can render them more susceptible to risk than desktop or even laptop computers. Desktops are routinely stationary devices and laptops are harder to lose than smartphones or tablets, being more sizeable. In addition, the same social engineering, phishing and application/operating system vulnerabilities which plague desktops and laptops are just as applicable to mobile devices.

With this in mind, it’s important to establish and follow specific, comprehensive guidelines for securing mobile devices from loss, attack, or misuse.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for mobile device security needs in order to protect businesses and their employees.

This policy can be customized as needed to fit the needs of your organization.

Scope

All employees, whether full-time, part-time, contract workers, consultants, part-time staff, interns and temporary workers and other personnel are covered by this policy. It also applies to all company-owned drone equipment or material related thereto.

Exceptions

There are no exceptions to this policy except where permitted in writing by the HR and IT departments.

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement has helped business save money on technological spending by allowing employees to use their own mobile devices, tablets or other electronics to conduct company operations.

The convenience of letting users rely upon devices they are familiar with (and for which they have their own support) has also made workers more efficient and reduced their dependency on the IT department for trouble-shooting, repairing, or replacing devices.

Of course, this flexibility comes with another sort of price: The need to establish proper guidelines for usage and control of these devices as well as what they can access and what steps should be followed in the event of loss, theft, or employment termination. Since employees use their devices for personal and/or recreational activities, this can pose more risk for the organization than the exclusive use of business-owned devices.

This policy from TechRepublic Premium describes the steps that the company and its employees will follow when connecting personal computers and devices to organization systems and networks.

Google Docs turns 15 years old this October 2021, since the app officially launched in October 2006, built on concepts initially implemented by the team behind Writely, which Google acquired. At the time, the real innovation of the app was multi-person document editing in a browser that worked. Years later, collaboration remains a core strength of Google Docs.

Over the years, the branding around Google Docs has changed. It’s been part of Google Apps for your Domain, Google Apps for Work and later, Google Apps (minus the modifiers). For a while it was part of G Suite. As of late 2021, Google Docs serves alongside other collaborative editors, such as Google Sheets and Google Slides, as a core component of Google Workspace.

To recognize the 15-year longevity of Google Docs, TechRepublic is highlighting 15 key aspects of the app. Many of these you may know, but I hope you find a few new-to-you features, as well. Find out more in this free PDF download.