Federal IT pros look at BYOD security, management concerns

05.04.2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Like their counterparts in the private sector, information technology managers in the federal government are actively debating whether their agencies should move to a "bring your own device" (BYOD) policy, allowing employee-owned mobile and tablets devices to be used for work.

At the Fose/GovSec Conference here, IT leaders from the General Services Administration, the Department of Agriculture, NASA and others spoke out in favor of BYOD, indicating they are moving along that path. Some, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, were more hesitant. And at the National Agency, where there's a huge push to try to adapt commercial-based smartphones and tablets for use by agency employees, don't bother to ask about BYOD.

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"God forbid you bring a phone in. It's not a pleasant experience," said Troy Lange, NSA's mobility mission manager, who participated in a panel discussion that focused on the BYOD question. NSA rules prohibit personal phones from even being brought into NSA buildings, so the topic of a BYOD policy is not on the table.

But if its push for commercial-based smartphones build according to NSA specifications is successful, such as its so-called , and these customized smartphones eventually get handed out to employees, there is the intention to "let people get to their personal email," said Lange. He also added the NSA may decide to stop relying on its lengthy certification processes for equipment and go with more "minimal requirements" that would be much simpler for vendors to hit.