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 matters most for organizations that want to use a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model.

iOS 18 standardizes 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 — 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 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, then automatically deleted when a user is offboarded, so 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 and 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 is not practical to keep company data under strict lock and key. Letting people work from home, or from anywhere, normally assumes they may access sensitive information from an insecure device to get their work done.

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

What makes it different

Android devices have long offered the ability to separate corporate and personal data through multiple user profiles, but the platform's wide range of versions and its allowance for side-loading apps make it inherently less secure than iOS. Apple's control over every aspect 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 keeps Apple's commitment to personal security intact. Organizations cannot see into any part of the personal device outside the MDM's purview, and users retain the authority to remove the MDM from their device. (They just will not 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 an individual's control of their own personal data.

• An Apple Business Manager account with managed Apple IDs is a prerequisite for iOS MDM enrollment. The service is free but sometimes time-consuming to set up. Macktez can help with the logistics.
• Organizations that primarily use Microsoft online services and are enrolled in Entra and Intune for identity and device management can take a layered approach to BYOD security, including app-level protection, conditional access, and security policies tied explicitly 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 for BYOD security policies that take advantage of the new iOS features.

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