Keep your data from walking out the door.

• Position: DATA SECURITY - Brief article

The consensus in the industry is that regardless of how you feel about the bring your own device (BYOD) trend, you can't afford to ignore it.

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A 2012 Nielsen study found that almost half (49.7%) of U.S. mobile subscribers own smartphones. According to Nielsen, this is an increase of 38% over 2011. It's a safe bet to expect a large percentage will want to connect to their company's wireless network. They'll forward documents to their personal accounts to read at home or while traveling.

With this increased access come increased security risks. Potentially sensitive corporate data is being sent to less-secure sites.

In a recent BizTech article, IBE.net co-founder Richard Minney suggested an alternate BYOD strategy in which the company actively allows BYOD, specifies what data can and cannot be transferred to and stored on those devices, and installs an app or two to...