BYOD Blindspots: Why Device Compliance Is More Than a Checkbox

Modern workforces are mobile by nature. Laptops, mobiles, tablets - employees expect to work from anywhere, often on their own devices. Most IT teams respond with a baseline policy: “we use Intune” or “we enforce encryption.”

But here’s the issue: device compliance isn't binary - and BYOD is often trusted without true verification.

The Rise of BYOD Risk

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are convenient, cost-saving, and sometimes unavoidable. But they also open a Pandora’s box of issues:

• No control over OS patching or updates

• Inconsistent policy enforcement

• Untracked local data storage

• Limited ability to wipe or retire devices

Even with MDM in place, BYOD environments often lack telemetry, drift detection, and enforcement consistency.

What “Compliant” Often Hides

In many Microsoft 365 environments, we find:

• Devices enrolled but not compliant

• Encryption missing on personal laptops

• Devices with expired antivirus still reporting “green”

• No enforcement of secure PINs or passwords

• Lost devices never retired from Intune

The device may “check in” - but that doesn’t mean it’s secure.

Conditional Access Does Not Equal Device Trust

Conditional Access can block or allow based on compliance - if the device is enrolled properly. But in BYOD setups:

• Devices may be marked “compliant” without real security baselines

• Compliance policies are inconsistent across OS types

• Policies lack logging, reporting, or enforcement controls

This creates a false sense of control - particularly when sensitive data is being accessed remotely.

What Device Compliance Should Consider

True device security includes:

• Full encryption enforcement

• OS-level patching standards

• Antivirus and firewall validation

• App protection for unmanaged devices

• Role-based policy targeting

• Drift monitoring and alerting

But none of this matters if policies aren't enforced or regularly reviewed.

Trust Is Earned - Not Assumed

If your security model relies on devices, then compliance must be measurable, enforceable, and auditable. Especially for BYOD, trust must be based on posture, not presence.

If you're unsure what’s really happening at the device layer - it's time to find out.

Our health check provides a comprehensive assessment across identity, endpoint, and data security in Microsoft 365. It delivers a unified risk picture and prioritised recommendations to address misconfigurations, strengthen compliance, and accelerate Zero Trust maturity.