International Data Privacy Legislation Review: A Guide for BYOD Policies

The spread of smartphones and tablets in the consumer market is having a big impact on the world of enterprise IT, with consumer-focused mobile devices making their way into the organization through the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend. IT departments are increasingly realizing that BYOD is happening whether it is officially sanctioned or not, and they are taking steps to address the trend with technology solutions that secure corporate data across a range of platforms and devices.

One important aspect of coping with BYOD that is getting less attention, however, is the impact of employee data privacy legislation and how this creates constraints for IT managers implementing a BYOD policy. Implementing a mobile device management (MDM) solution on a personally owned device will, in most cases, entail a certain degree of activity monitoring and access to data. This can leave the organization in danger of breaching its employees' data privacy rights and therefore open to a lawsuit. Enterprises are therefore presented with a dilemma: they must protect corporate data accessed on an employee-owned device, especially any sensitive customer data, as they will be liable in the event of data loss or misuse, but they must do so without invading the employee's right to personal data privacy.

This report offers guidance concerning privacy laws relevant to BYOD in eight major geographic markets, providing recommendations for and case studies of BYOD implementations. It also provides a framework around which to create a corporate mobility policy that helps ensure compliance with the law while protecting corporate data.

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