The increasing number of networked devices presents many companies with challenges. They are increasingly faced with the problem that they not only have to secure employees' computers, servers, network printers and other components of official IT, but also countless private devices. This is because, in addition to smartphones as part of BYOD, employees are actually bringing all the smart devices they use at home to the workplace. This is the result of a recent study by Infoblox, for which companies in the USA, the UK and Germany were surveyed. 35% of them stated that they have more than 5,000 private devices in their network every day - in Germany, the average was 1,856 private devices per company.

In addition to fitness trackers, e-book readers and digital assistants such as Alexa, smart TVs and games consoles and even smart kitchen appliances, especially kettles and microwaves, are often found in the workplace. They are all generally much less secure than the company's own systems - often, of course, because no security software can be installed on them. As a result, these devices are popular with cyber criminals, who track them down and infiltrate them via IoT search engines such as "Shodan" in order to work their way into the network from there.

In addition, many private devices are used to gain access to social networks or download apps. This opens up a gateway for malware that IT managers need to keep an eye on. Infoblox points to the increasing spread of links to infected websites via social media and the apps with malware that are repeatedly discovered on Google Play, some of which are downloaded millions of times.

Perception and reality

According to Infoblox, most IT managers have an overly optimistic view of their own security measures. Almost nine out of ten managers stated that they had effective or even very effective security guidelines. However, almost a quarter of the employees surveyed are unaware of this and are completely unaware of whether there are any guidelines for network-compatible private devices in the workplace. In addition, a not inconsiderable number of employees deliberately ignore the policies. Only a fifth follow the rules to the letter.

In addition to enforcing security guidelines and raising employee awareness, transparency in the network is essential, according to Infoblox. Only if you have an overview of all connected devices can you make valid statements about sources of danger and risks. Frank Ruge, Senior Director & General Manager Central Europe at Infoblox, recommends starting at DNS level: "DNS is an excellent control point, as communication can be prevented even before the first application packet."