Pokemon Go, Security Concern
If you have not heard of Pokemon Go before it’s a relatively new game developed by Nintendo.
The aim is simple – played anywhere, it is to catch Pokemon characters who can be anywhere. The result means your employees can play it at work and this is where the trouble lies.
Although Pokemon Go can be a lot fun, it is important to understand the risks. It is possible to have Pokemon Go images of the inside of your office, and employee’s office desktops within the game, with computer screens displaying readable, possibly confidential, company data. This now makes Pokemon Go a serious potential security breach so here is a summary of the risks you should be aware of:
To play the game, you have to give the app permission to use your network connection, camera, position and microphone.
If you play Pokemon Go in the office, images or video of confidential company data, embargoed information and other confidential information may be shared on the internet by the game itself or, unintentionally, an employee.
At least one fake virus-infected Pokemon Go app has already been discovered for Android devices. In combination with the wide range of permissions you give when you install the game, an infected game can compromise your personal data, and have access to confidential company information on a smartphone.
By installing Pokemon Go, you allow it to assist you to automatically login to Google, your Google email account, or other cloud applications, such as Google drive.
Pokemon Go is not the only game that requests extended permissions to access the data on your smartphone. What makes Pokemon Go so much more of a risk is the combination with images, video and location data.
People that play Pokemon Go should look out for any apps that request full access to the data on their smartphones.
To avoid these risks, consider not allowing employees to play Pokemon Go in the office.
Microsoft Stream
Recently announced, Stream is proclaimed by Microsoft to be ‘the secure destination to manage and share videos for businesses of all sizes’, but what is it? Well to summarise, Stream lets employees easily work together on videos, and then share that content. Think of it as an in-house business YouTube channel with video that can be integrated into your business workflow.
Accessed via a video portal you can view all the videos company employees have shared with you, subscribe to channels, search for any subject matter you want to explore, follow colleague’s videos and more. Stream is set to ultimately replace Office 365 video.
Dropbox AdminX
AdminX is a new dashboard for IT admins to better tailor and control their company’s files and users on Dropbox Business accounts.
Features include a new version of folders for individuals, teams and larger groups, all with more granular permissions across the board that can be managed from the dashboard; more enhanced controls for syncing files, letting admins choose which files will be synced locally and which are not, meaning that they can be modified depending on the device being used, and the amount of disk space available.
If you would like help and advice with your IT infrastructure call me.
t: 00 (44) 1342 716873
e: jamie.shaw@thecloudconsultancy.eu
w: www.thecloudconsultancy.eu
