Protect Your Device
The use of mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, has become very popular among staff and students to access Institute resources and to conduct Institute business and study. The use of such devices is accompanied by serious security risk that must be addressed to protect Institute information they contain.
Guide to keep your Smartphone or Tablet Safer
1. Guard your smartphone or tablet and set PINs. Passwords or Biometric.
Protect your mobile device against unauthorised use by setting up a PIN, swipe pattern, password or biometric challenge for your home screen. You can usually do this through the Settings feature on your mobile device. For further guidance check out YouTube on video guides for your particularly mobile device.
2. Take note of important details of your Smartphone
Make a record of your phone’s IMEI number, as well as the make and model number. The IMEI is a unique 15-digit serial number which you will need to give to your mobile operator to have your phone blocked. You can check your IMEI number by keying *#06# into your handset or by looking behind your phone battery.
3. Install Apps from trusted sources
Only download apps from official and trusted app stores. Be extremely careful of using untrusted sources. Make sure to read the information about the app before downloading it.
Avoid apps from unauthorised sources, such as ‘bulletin boards’ or ‘peer-to-peer’ networks. Instead, download your apps from official stores, such as the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store, or Google Play – and exercise care: for example, research the app and check reviews
4. Back up and secure your data
Many mobile devices come with a software package to back up your data to a personal computer, so that you don’t lose it if your mobile device goes astray. Check for information on how to do this in the mobile device manual or check YouTube for video guides on your device. There are also some third-party applications (‘apps’) that can do this for you, creating a copy of information such as contacts, photographs and other data. Please note no sensitive or confidential LYIT data should be stored on mobile devices (smartphone or tablets) that have not been approved in writing by the IT Manager.
5. Use software to find or erase your mobile device if missing
Consider installing a reputable security app that enables you to track your mobile device location if it goes missing, or to wipe data from the mobile device remotely if you’re not able to recover the device. Some manufacturers provide such an app themselves: for example, Apple’s Find My iPhone, BlackBerry Protect, the Android Device Manager or Windows Find My Phone. Third-party apps are also available to perform a similar function. Please note if your mobile device connects to the Institute Microsoft Office 365 system then Computer Services will have the ability to remote wipe the settings on the phone (Microsoft Apps and Institute data only).
6. Update operating system & apps
Regularly, your mobile device manufacture will have updates available for the operating system – the software that runs your device. Apps developers may also release updates to their app that you have installed. It is highly recommended that you do these updates as they become available. As well as typically offering new features and improving your mobile device’s performance, they can also fix security vulnerabilities.
7. Mobile Device Disposal
If you decided to donate, resell or recycle you mobile device, remember to erase any data on it first. Remove and erase any media cards and perform a full or “factory” reset. Check out YouTube on how to this for your mobile device. Institute owned mobile devices must be returned to Computer Services department for disposing or returning.
Staff Connecting to Microsoft Office 365
To connect a mobile device, Apple IOS and Android only, to the Institute’s Microsoft Office 365 environment in order to use email (Outlook only), OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, etc. you need to agree to the following terms and conditions.
- Must have a password set of at least 4 characters on the device
- Sign up for second-factor authentication by enrolling with your personal mobile number via registration process.
- Must set a password to access your Institute’s Microsoft Apps each time
- Will automatically lock after 5 minutes if left idle
- Will require to do Multi-Factor authentication every 30 days.
- Apps (Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint, etc.) can be wiped centrally if you report it lost or stolen.
- Staff are responsible for maintaining a current operating system (OS) and current software and firmware patches on their mobile device(s). It is critical that staff keep their mobile devices updates.
- The Institute will not be responsible for any loss of personal data or applications that resides on your mobile device in the use of this service or an event that a mobile application needs to be wiped
- In the event that you forget your PIN, Computer Services will not be able to retrieve it. The resetting of a new PIN will result in the mobile device been wiped.
In the event that your mobile device is loss or stolen and it is connected to the Institute mail system, you are require to contact Computer Services helpdesk immediately on 074 918 6050. On receipt of such notification we have the ability initiate a “remote wipe” which will erase all Institute data only on your mobile device protecting Institute data from unauthorized access.
Computer Services highly recommends you backup all the data on your mobile device routinely and before trying to connect it to the Institute Microsoft Office 365 system