How can using your personal devices at work be a potential security risk?

23rd April 2025

The biggest threat to your businesses cyber security could be YOU!

Many of us end up using our personal devices as part of our work. Personally, I use my phone to keep up with Interfuture Security’s social media when I am out of the office: others use it for more, with some using their home computers to continue projects they started on their work devices, sharing files between the two.

While this is very convenient, it does pose a cyber security risk. Read on to discover why this is the case and what you can do to mitigate the issue:

Data leakage: the more devices information is on, and the less monitored they are, the more likely it is that information will be unintentionally exposed. Devices have a higher chance of being compromised, lost or stolen when outside of the office.

Malware infection: your devices may not have the same level of protection as your work ones, leaving them more vulnerable to attack. I can certainly relate to this; we have incredible cyber security at Interfuture, but I only use the basics at home!

Phishing attacks: your home inbox may not have the same measures in place to catch and quarantine phishing emails, putting your personal data at risk.

Inconsistent updates and patches: there is no guarantee that staff will update their devices to have the latest security measures – this outdated software would be easier to exploit.

As we have explained, there is a considerable risk to using your personal devices for work. Even if your cyber security practises at home are incredible, with the most up-to-date measures in place, it may not be cohesive with your work infrastructure and there is still an increased risk of important information being leaked.

We recommend that you separate home and business devices, unless it is for something unimportant like social media and not something vital like client data. For more info, talk to us HERE.