Device Management: Essential for Workplace Security and Efficiency

The digital workplace is using more devices in pursuit of workflow efficiency. This presents challenges for company networks, as every device costs the organization in terms of security risk and increased management burden.

For the purpose of this blog post, we will focus on several important topics:

• What is Device Management?

• Features and Benefits of Device Management

• Leveraging Device Management in Access Control

What is Device Management?

Device management refers to the process of monitoring, maintaining, and securing devices used in a company's network. This typically includes but is not limited to anything that connects to the company’s infrastructure: laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, etc.

For most organizations, this falls under the purview of IT departments or even managed service providers (MSPs) to handle the task.

The end goal of device management is to ensure the company’s operations run smoothly, usually via the following:

• Set up and configuration of the device

• Installation of necessary software

• Security management

• Maintenance and updates

Features and Benefits of Device Management

In short: productivity and security. Companies that manage their devices well will see multiplying factors on their productive workflows and reduced risk of security incidents.

Productivity and Operational Agility

Whether it’s onboarding a new employee or ensuring a remote employee’s devices are productively capable, device management plays a critical role in getting the job done.

Device management also plays a vital role in workplace operational agility. With a centralized system, IT teams can easily manage and troubleshoot devices remotely, minimizing downtime and improving productivity. This can lead to faster response times, increased resource utilization, and a better overall experience for employees.

Proper device management also gives organizations insight into how their devices are being used for auditing purposes. This happens through monitoring and analyzing device usage patterns, identifying areas for improvement and opportunities for optimization. By leveraging this data, organizations can make informed decisions that lead to significant cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and increased competitiveness in today's fast-paced business environment.

Security

The other side of the coin is security. Poorly managed devices result in negligent insider incidents, and Ponemon Institute found that the average cost per incident was $484,931. They further listed device management deficiencies in 2 of the top 5 signs that an organization is at risk.

Here’s some findings by Carnegie Mellon University breaking down how devices contribute to insider threats:

The recent high-profile case of LastPass’s unmanaged device hack has shown how device issues can inadvertently ruin an entire company’s brand and reputation. Hackers were able to infect an employee's home computer and steal the corporate vault. This is just one example case for having a well-designed device management plan.

Leveraging Device Management in Access Control

When you start managing devices, your network should be configured to assign unique identities to each device. This allows your network to recognize familiar devices and be cautious of unfamiliar ones. Just as you recognize cars parked in your driveway and become instantly wary when seeing unfamiliar vehicles, your network should be thinking: “Seen this phone, that’s expected” and “Never seen this laptop, be careful” or even “fsck, what did they just insert?”

Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash

By using device identity along with the commonly used user identity (e.g.; SSO, user credentials, etc.), organizations can ensure that only authorized users on authorized devices are allowed to access sensitive data and resources. It's important to note that even if you trust the user, you should not necessarily trust the device they are using (remember, LastPass had their major breach because an engineer logged in via a compromised device). Adding this extra step can help prevent unauthorized access and reduce the risk of security breaches.

Context-aware access leverages contextual information such as user identity, device posture, and network location to make access decisions that are tailored to the specific context of each access request. The result is reducing the risk of security breaches similar to LastPass’ where trusted users use unregistered and/or compromised devices.

Getting Started with Device Management

Device management should always be utilized with access control, but for some reason many organizations don’t make that connection. Pomerium includes device management and identity features so network and IT administrators can approve, keep track of, and log the devices that are being used in the network.

If you just want to start implementing access control to sensitive resources today, Pomerium is an open-source context-aware access gateway to secure access to applications and services. Device management is a natural extension of Pomerium’s context-aware access capabilities.

Our users depend on Pomerium to secure zero trust, clientless access to their web applications everyday.

You can check out our open-source Github Repository or give Pomerium a try today!