In an article published in Law.com’s Legal Tech News, Jarrett Coco, South Carolina-based partner at Nelson Mullins, discusses considerations IT executives must weigh when allowing employees to use personal (non-work issued) devices including cell phones and computers to conduct company business. According to Coco, executives may tend to focus primarily on securing the company data within the mobile device management software container; however, much of the complexity and risk lies in the data found outside the container.

“When dealing with personal devices and data outside the MDM container, companies should strive to balance the employee’s privacy with the company’s interests in accessing and possessing its own communications,” he wrote. “The guiding principle is that any search of an employee-owned device should be limited in scope and focused on the litigation or investigation.”