Worth Reading – New OneDrive Prompt Could Mix Work and Personal Files
Why Microsoft, why?
Microsoft is rolling out a new feature coming month that will prompt users to add their personal Microsoft account to OneDrive. This means that, when the user accepts, personal files will be synced to your business devices.
And even worse, it allows users to easily (and accidentally) save business files into their personal OneDrives. This way, you not only lose track of company data, but it also allows the users to share files with anyone, without any restrictions or auditing.
https://lazyadmin.nl/office-365/new-onedrive-prompt-could-mix-work-and-personal-files/
There are more details and instructions on blocking it in your workplace, but it is one of those “features” that sometimes makes me wonder about tech companies.
There are obvious data privacy risks here. Sometimes, I forget that not everyone works in the legal industry and is hyper-aware of confidentiality and data privacy, the way you are when that is your firm’s business, but this is not one of those times. Every business, including Microsoft, would be unhappy if a user synced company data into their consumer OneDrive account.
Seriously, name one business where that is not a problem. I’ll show you one that takes on a significant risk and eventually gets burned. You don’t do it. There’s no reason for it.
As an employee, I also have no reason for my personal data to be stored on a device that I don’t own.
Why would I want to take data I store in a personal storage account and copy it to my work laptop, where it is accessible to IT folks and anyone else who might need to access the machine for any reason? Now I’m trusting them with my documents when they are this unserious about data security?
Please don’t do this. If you’re prompted to, send this post to your IT team and ask them about turning that off.
