Can MDM software be used to spy on employee ?
Can MDM software be used to spy on employee ?
My employer had us install a software called "fleet osquery", they said it's a first step toward inventory management of all the devices for IT. I guess it also adds a layer of safety by making sure nobody installs any dangerous software/malware on their work devices.
Looking at the docs , it looks like this can be used to remotely execute scripts on my laptop, should I be worried about my employer spying on me during work hours ? Or logging information about what I'm doing ?
Work laptop or personal laptop?
If it's a work-supplied laptop then it's their device, and you should not use it for personal stuff. Always assume that company-supplied devices are monitored. Having said that, IT won't sit there watching your every move, but they will care if you watch porn or download torrents.
If it's a personal laptop then they can go pound salt.
As someone that has managed MDM platforms before, I absolutely agree with this. If it’s a work laptop, then yeah they have the right to install MDM on it. If it’s a personal laptop, I really wouldn’t recommend it.
MDM gives the admins full control over the device. They can run commands to wipe the device, install software, set policies, gather inventory data, or any custom action they want.
The MDM platforms I’ve used can’t be used to spy on people, but they absolutely have the power to install software or run scripts that can spy on you. IT probably doesn’t have time to actually watch individual employees, but anything they do likely has a built in report that can give data on who did what, prioritizing based on whatever the company is looking for.
Always assume that companies are monitoring everything going on with the computers and WiFi networks that they own. They likely are checking things out to make sure activity is safe and appropriate.
Work laptop of course, if it was my personal device I wouldn't even care what they say. I think I'm going to isolate my work laptop from my home network now though.
This is the correct answer. Assuming it’s a work owned device, the answer to “can they monitor me?” is always yes.
However, unless you’re constantly tripping their automated alarms, or management has come to them with a productivity issue about you, they’re not gonna do much.
but they will care if you watch porn or download torrents.
HR might care, IT probably not.
In IT, and have been since 99. I cared more about porn(adware, viruses, etc used to be more frequent on them) than other groups I expected to caresometimes. A regional managers laptop was acting slow, so sent back to us. During cleanup I found porn among other issues, and reported it to their manager. The response was basically:
"How much longer before you can return the laptop to them?" They just wanted em up and running again. Now at an MSP, and we've found porn on fileservers, often time by the owners of the company.
yes you should be. that thing probably is literal malware. is it even legal (where you live) for your employer to force you to install such a thing on your laptop (i assume it’s a personal one)?
Fleet is an open source device management software. Calling it literal malware seems odd to me.
How would you manage hundeds or thousands of devices without Intune, SCCM, Ivanti, Ansible or whatever tool your org uses?
I would be more worried if the company had no means of controlling their devices, keeping them updated, secure and compliant.
When it comes to protect the rights of thw users, there are typically laws in place (at least where I live).
(it's not his personal device - it's a work owned device)
Incorrect.