You’d Never Hand Out a Laptop Without Security — So Why Do It With Mobiles?

Why mobile devices must be secured like any other business endpoint

In most organisations, laptops and desktops are deployed with a well-rehearsed process. They’re configured, locked down, protected with antivirus and web filtering, enrolled into management tools, and shielded behind layers of corporate firewalls.

Nobody would dream of handing one to an employee straight out of the box.

But mobile devices?

All too often, it’s:

1. Open the box.

2. Insert the SIM.

3. Hand it over.

Yet mobiles today aren’t just communication tools. They are full-fledged business endpoints — often more powerful, more connected and more widely used than laptops ever were. In many industries, they’ve become the primary way staff access work data, collaborate and serve customers.

If mobiles are doing the same job as laptops, why aren’t they protected the same way?

Mobiles Have Become the Default Work Device

Modern working patterns mean people are constantly switching between environments: trains, cafés, home offices, airports, warehouses, customer sites and hotel rooms. In all of these places, employees instinctively reach for their mobile device first — not a laptop.

That’s where they:

• Check business email

• Access internal systems

• View financial dashboards

• Authenticate into cloud services

• Communicate with colleagues and customers

• Use industry-specific apps

  
  

The device in their pocket is now the primary gateway into your business.

And because it’s always with them, it’s also constantly exposed: to public networks, personal content, social apps, unknown Wi-Fi hotspots, and everything else outside your corporate perimeter.

Outside the Office, Your Safety Net Disappears

Inside your office, you control the environment. Firewalls block inappropriate or unsafe content, web filters prevent dangerous sites loading, and network protections reduce exposure.

But once someone walks out the door? None of those protections follow them.

Here’s what typically happens:

People connect to anything that offers Wi-Fi

Hotel hotspots, café networks, airport lounges, train Wi-Fi, even the neighbour’s router when home broadband is down.These networks don’t filter anything. They don’t warn users. They don’t stop harmful sites or malicious content.

Personal usage becomes the norm

Night shifts lead to streaming TV.Boredom leads to social scrolling.Apps get installed that would never be permitted in the office.

Devices become “holiday phones”

It’s incredibly common for staff to loan their work phone to children on holiday to watch videos or play games.Those downloads, accidental taps and questionable pop-ups are now happening on the same device that holds company data.

Unexpected roaming bills appear

While abroad, many people use their work phone for navigation, photo uploads, streaming and social media — unaware of the cost.Businesses often only discover the bill after the damage is done.

All of this happens on a device that still has access to work email, files, systems and applications.

Mobile Threats Have Evolved Just as Fast as Mobile Working

Attackers understand that mobile devices present easier opportunities. Smaller screens, distracted moments, and the constant blend of personal and work usage make mobiles fertile ground for social engineering and unsafe downloads.

It’s not just email anymore — it’s texts, messaging apps, fake websites, social platforms, alternative app stores and persuasive pop-ups designed specifically for mobile layouts.

Vulnerabilities in apps and operating systems also appear regularly. Updates fix them — but only if the organisation has a way to enforce those updates. Without that, devices can run outdated software indefinitely, sometimes without the user even knowing it needs updating.

Risky apps, unofficial app stores, permissions that overreach, and unusual background behaviours all contribute to a threat landscape that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.

None of these issues are solved just because a device is a “phone”.

Why Many Organisations Still Overlook Mobile Security

Most businesses treat laptops seriously because they’ve spent years building structured deployment and security processes for them. Mobiles, however, suffer from outdated assumptions:

“Mobiles are secure by default.”

They are secure — until users visit unsafe sites, download the wrong apps or skip updates.

“They don’t carry much business data.”

They carry email, cloud access, customer information, files, photos, authentication tokens and more.

“They’re harder to manage.”

Modern mobile management tools have made securing mobiles just as easy as securing laptops — often easier.

“Staff will use them responsibly.”

In reality, mobiles mix personal and work usage constantly, creating risks that rarely exist on company laptops.

Treat Mobiles Like the Endpoints They Are

Every business, whether a sole trader with a single phone or a large organisation with thousands of devices, should apply the same principles to mobiles that they do to laptops:

✔ Enforce updates and patching

If vulnerabilities exist, updates must be applied promptly.

✔ Apply content filtering and safe browsing

Replicate the protection of your office firewall — everywhere your employees go.

✔ Implement compliance rules

A device that’s out of date, misconfigured or running unsafe apps shouldn’t access business systems.

✔ Control app installation and permissions

Allow what’s necessary, block what’s risky, and prevent installation from unknown sources.

✔ Separate work and personal usage

Reduce roaming bill shock, data leakage and accidental exposure from family usage.

✔ Provide mobile-specific user education

Staff need to recognise common mobile threats and understand how to avoid them.

✔ Adopt zero-trust access controls

Trust the device only when it’s compliant — simple.

The Bottom Line

You would never:

• Hand someone a laptop with no policies applied

• Allow anyone to install whatever they want

• Permit unfiltered access to unsafe networks

• Ignore critical updates

• Allow staff to give their work laptop to their kids

• Leave corporate cyber security to chance

  
  

But many organisations allow all of that — and more — with mobile devices.

Mobiles are no longer communication tools. They are fully fledged business endpoints that access your systems, hold your data and operate in environments you can’t control.

If they hold company information, they need company-grade protection.

Eastbridge Comms can help you secure and manage your mobile devices with the same care you apply to laptops — ensuring your people stay productive, connected and protected, wherever they work.