iOS 18 introduces significant BYOD security enhancements

With iOS 18, Apple has significantly improved how organizations can secure company data on employee-owned iPhones and iPads. This is especially important for organizations that want to use a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model.

Essentially, iOS 18 has standardized a way to create a secure, separate container on the device for work-related apps and data. That container keeps corporate information isolated from personal apps, photos, and other data.

Until now, adding mobile device management (MDM) to an iOS device would take over administration of the whole device — perfectly acceptable for a company-owned phone, but not for a personal phone that also needs access to work email and other data.

Now, organizations can add MDM for partial device management, attaching important security policies to corporate data while leaving personal data untouched and private.

For example:

• Apps for accessing business data can be pushed to mobile devices … and automatically deleted when a user is offboarded, ensuring they lose access to a local cache of privileged data.
• Company data can be prevented from accidental or intentional sharing with personal apps, even through copy/paste.
• Security policies can require the presence of an MDM to allow access to identity-managed online services, eliminating the chance of rogue logins from unauthorized devices.

Why it matters

Security always needs to be balanced with convenience. For most organizations to stay nimble, it’s not practical to keep company data under strict lock and key. Letting people work from home (or work from anywhere) normally assumes that they may access sensitive information from an insecure device in order to get their work done.

But that compromise can now be negotiated with better terms for security. With partial device management, and strict requirements for that device management to be in place, organizations can give their employees flexibility while still maintaining organizational security policies.

Why it’s cool

While Android devices have offered the ability to separate corporate and personal data through multiple user profiles, the platform’s diverse range of versions and allowance for side-loading apps make it inherently less secure than iOS. Apple’s control over all aspects of its devices’ security contributes to iOS’s stronger security posture, but until recently that stronger security was tied exclusively to a single device user and prioritized personal security over organizational security.

iOS used with MDM maintains Apple’s commitment to personal security — organizations cannot see into any part of the personal device outside of the MDM’s purview, and in fact users have the authority to remove the MDM from their device (they just won’t be able to check their work email from their phone).

How to deploy BYOD MDM for your organization

All organizations, regardless of size or infrastructure, can benefit from tighter control over how personal mobile devices access corporate data, especially since that control does not need to conflict with individuals’ control of their own personal data.

• An Apple Business Manager account with managed Apple IDs is a prerequisite for iOS MDM enrollment. That service is free but sometimes time-consuming to get set up. Macktez can help with these logistics.

• Organizations that primarily use Microsoft online services and are enrolled in Entra and Intune for identity and device management can take advantage of a layered approach to BYOD security, including app-level protection, conditional access, and security policies explicitly tied to the work container.
• Cross-platform or Google Workspace organizations will need to deploy MDM with a third party service. Macktez Management Essentials, or our Workstation and Identity Management subscriptions together, provide the framework BYOD security policies that take advantage of new iOS features.