Bring your own IoT device, a repeat of history - Tracking The Internet of Things

Photo Tim Bounds used under CC BY-NC 2.0 licence Remember when there was much media coverage, analyst commentary and corporate angst around bring your own device (BYOD): employees wanting to use their own smartphones, laptops, notepads into the corporate IT environment? There was much debate about the pros, cons and risks of doing so, and widespread opposition. In September 2011 I reported "A new study today revealed most employers, in Australia and New Zealand, did not accept BYOD (bring-your-own-device) practices and still preferred to provide their employees with corporate's mobile devices when needed." Security was the big concern and a number of startups such as AirWatch, Good Technology, Zenprise and Sybase emerged to address a market that went under the umbrella term of mobile device management. Bring your own'thing' History has a habit of repeating itself and the concerns levelled at smartphones, laptops and notepads are now being levelled at devices that could be equally dangerous to corporate IT security: personal assistants like Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple.