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Smart Device Policy

Over the last few months Emory has been implementing a new security policy in order to protect both institutionally and personally owned smart devices (smartphones and tablets) that access Emory Exchange email or store sensitive Emory data.  This policy, adopted in January, requires the following:

  • A four digit PIN will be required to unlock your device
  • Your device will automatically lock (require your PIN to be entered) after a maximum of no more than 15 minutes of inactivity
  • If someone enters your PIN incorrectly 10 times in a row the device will erase itself (most devices have a protection mechanism that will prevent you or someone else from doing this accidentally).
  • Your data will be encrypted, if supported by your device

To date this policy has been successfully deployed to over 4,000 smart devices across Emory. On June 19th the policy will be applied to all smart device users in the School of Medicine and Emory Healthcare. The following week, on June 26th, the policy will be applied to any remaining smart device users that have not yet received it, and all new smart device users added after this date will receive the policy by default when they configure their accounts.

View more information on this policy

Even if you have a smart device that isn’t in scope for this policy (i.e. you do not check your Emory e-mail on a smart device that you use), it is a good idea to configure these settings manually in order to enable a minimum level of protection for your device. For more information on how you can do this, visit the following links:

  • KB01451 - Manually configuring your iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) to meet the smart device security requirements
  • KB01457 - How to manually configure your BlackBerry device to meet the smart device security requirements
  • KB01553 - How to manually configure your Windows 7 Phone device to meet the smart device security requirements

Lost or stolen smart devices

Loss and/or theft of smart devices is on the rise. Several million smart devices are lost or stolen annually worldwide. What should you do in the event that your smart device becomes one of these millions?

View step-by-step guidance for what to do if your device goes missing