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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To refuse use of personal mobile for work

211 replies

Petal12 · 08/04/2022 16:25

Hi all, work are intending on introducing multi factor authentication soon. To enter our system we will now need to verify this by authorising on an app we have been told is to be installed on our personal mobile phones. I used to believe in give and take but the last few years have shown the feeling is not mutual and you are simply a number to be used for as long as useful. I like to think I’m not a petty person but can’t get past this. My main bug bear is that I’ve not been asked, just told! Few other points so as not to drip feed

  • Not allowed to log personal devices into the
work WiFi. Why should I use my paid for data to facilitate this? No matter how little it may use. If they do allow me to use the work WiFi, does that mean the internet policy applies when using my phone in breaks i.e I can’t use any number of sites they deem inappropriate?
  • My iphone is quite old and has storage issues every week. I would have to delete other apps that I actually use to allow this google authenticator to download.
  • It’s another point of them being cheap and cutting corners.
  • What if I lose/break my phone?
I’m sure there’s probably security issues that I’ve likely not thought of as well. AIBU?
OP posts:
Dixiechickonhols · 08/04/2022 17:32

How will you log on if you don’t have your phone. There must be a way to work without it? Otherwise you just sit there all day if you accidentally leave phone on side at home or it breaks.

AfraidToRun · 08/04/2022 17:35

At our work the people who refused were sent an SMS as they didn't have a smart phone and refused to get one. Others have a landline number for a call.

MayMorris · 08/04/2022 17:35

@Cultureclub

I've the same situation at work but I also have to use my phone for work calls zoom calls, teams, my sos emergency system etc. I've brought it up on numerous occasions and still awaiting the work mobile.Our policy at work regarding IT is very stringent and we've been asked to sign off on a policy allowing work to delete our personal phones remotely if we lose them. It's messy in the extreme and I think no-one should have to use their personal phones for work. My appraisal was last week and I've asked for it to be recorded, this was the first time they showed any interest as they didn't want to record it.
Bloody hell…Why did you sign this? If you have kids or people you are caring for this could cause massive issues even if you’d backed up into cloud…
DGRossetti · 08/04/2022 17:36

What’s the point if anyone can generate the code?

They can't. Only an admin can.

And even with a list of 2FA codes, I couldn't log into someones account without their password. I could of course change their password and then use the 2FA to get in. But that would (hopefully) alert them and trigger all sorts of actions.

The idea of MFA is something you know plus something you have. So you know the password, and you have the phone (via app, or SMS). It could also be a code on a piece of paper, your fingerprint, retinal scan, voiceprint .... you get the idea.

mumda · 08/04/2022 17:36

Tetjem you don't have a smart phone is the easiest answer.

How sensible are these authentication apps which allow you to print out a list of spare codes?

DGRossetti · 08/04/2022 17:37

@Dixiechickonhols

How will you log on if you don’t have your phone. There must be a way to work without it? Otherwise you just sit there all day if you accidentally leave phone on side at home or it breaks.
Decent 2FA allows for codes to be generated in advance and stored (maybe in a wallet ?).
DGRossetti · 08/04/2022 17:39

@mumda

Tetjem you don't have a smart phone is the easiest answer.

How sensible are these authentication apps which allow you to print out a list of spare codes?

The app doesn't, the administrator does. Although Facebook, Amazon and eBay all let you print of some offline codes if you need. Twitter probably does too. And Google and Microsoft.
Suretobe · 08/04/2022 17:41

Is WFH optional? If so perhaps you could consider it a pretty small price to pay for the flexibility.

BluKorner · 08/04/2022 17:42

[quote Petal12]@DGRossetti I suspect on the cheap! The alternative I’d been told is to verify via internet browser link on my laptop - however this is advised as a last resort, not to be freely communicated with anyone else![/quote]
Wait so you’ve been given an alternative option? So what’s the problem?

Hutchy16 · 08/04/2022 17:46

@MayMorris there is no work data on your device…you literally log onto your work computer, then to access the server you get a randomly generated code from your phone.

It’s nothing to do with it being a generational thing and people not being bothered about protecting their personal info. There is no personal info at risk, nobody can use your phone to access the work systems as you still have to put in all of your passwords just to get on your laptop, the code is just an extra security step to reduce the risk of someone accessing the servers.

It really isn’t anything to do with using your personal phone for work stuff, it is literally a 20 second task. But most of the people replying here don’t seem to understand what is actually happening and they think that this involves having work on their personal phones…it doesn’t

ExMachinaDeus · 08/04/2022 18:00

YANBU. My work made us do this. It is a huge faff and like you, I resent them assuming I will pay for my phone so they can require me to use it.

At my place, colleagues without smart phones were given an alternative- some sort of dongle I think.

Can you flatly refuse, saying that your phone can’t accommodate the app and ask them for an alternative?

Original poster
Petal12 · 08/04/2022 18:06

Thanks for your input everyone. I haven’t done or said anything yet, just enquired what the alternative is. I’m off for a few weeks now so will see what’s happened when I get back

OP posts:
latriciamcneal · 08/04/2022 18:09

It's awful but this is the fourth industrial revolution, it's a huge unrelenting and merciless push towards digitalisation of humans. My husband lays in bed moving his arm up and down to get his steps in for his watch which rewards him for doing steps. He gets a free coffee if he does 10K and gets upset that I refuse to emulate Pavlov's dogs and resist technology encroaching INto my every being.

So work are mandating you have a smart phone? Resist this. You ask what if your phone breaks - do you want the answer?

ImplementingTheDennisSystem · 08/04/2022 18:10

Ive only been in my current role for 4 months.
I have an 'Authenticator' app on my personal phone which I have to use thumbprint to log in with every so often (not daily).
But I will point blank refuse to use my personal phone for work beyond this. If I'm asked for my number by any colleagues, I will be saying "Oh sorry, I've not been given a work phone".

SergeiL · 08/04/2022 18:18

Goodness me! Yes let’s all carry two phones - two phones that will stay in the world forever - because we refuse to install an app!

I was told I had to get a work mobile and I refused. I don’t want to carry two phones and I am plenty grown up enough to separate work and home.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 08/04/2022 18:19

@Hutchy16

Yeah it sounds like you are being unreasonable. I have to verify with an app on my phone to log onto my company’s servers…what do you want as an alternative??? A new phone from them…c’mon
If OP's phone doesn't have the memory then why shouldn't work provide her with a phone? No way would I delete any apps to make room for work stuff on my personal mobile!

We have Microsoft authenticator and it's a pain in the arse. We have to use it every morning but then all of a sudden it decides to send another code at a random point during the day.

chisanunian · 08/04/2022 18:19

No, no and thrice no.

They are demanding that you use personal equipment for their business purposes and they have no right to do that. If their systems require this sort of thing, then they will have to provide you with the equipment to do it.

Fireflygal · 08/04/2022 18:22

Op, I think you are reasonable to ask for a work phone that is managed and secure. However if it's just for authentication app then it's use is extremely low

I just wanted to highlight the reasons behind use of work WIFi. Does your company have an IT department?

grafittiartist · 08/04/2022 18:32

Sounds messy.
I would hate operating work stuff on my own phone.
Keep em separate.

noodlezoodle · 08/04/2022 18:35

I don't know why people are saying OP is being petty - she explained her phone doesn't have enough storage and she'd have to delete some of her own apps for this one that she doesn't even want. Why should she have to do that?

OP if they're serious about this then they will give you a phone or an authenticator token instead.

ExMachinaDeus · 08/04/2022 18:48

@Hutchy16

I think a lot of the posters don’t understand what this app will be. It’s a ‘token’ on your phone, you type in a chosen passcode and they give you a code in return. This code is entered into your laptop to prove it is you that is logging in.

Nobody is accessing your phone, no data is transferred, nobody is having to work from their phone. It is literally a case of typing a passcode and getting given a verification code in return.

The whole idea of pushing back on this is beyond petty - it’s actually embarrassing for the OP (people would definitely be laughing at you for this)

I think the point is not the app or the way it uses data. It’s about an employer assuming that employees will own a smart phone, and the assumption that they can be required to use it for work purposes.
DGRossetti · 08/04/2022 19:22

We have Microsoft authenticator and it's a pain in the arse. We have to use it every morning but then all of a sudden it decides to send another code at a random point during the day.

That's just badly set up.

DGRossetti · 08/04/2022 19:26

I just wanted to highlight the reasons behind use of work WIFi. Does your company have an IT department?

Only managed devices should be allowed on the company network. If the company provides WiFi for personal use it needs to be completely separate.

I've just picked up a colleague who had some malware on their phone and that was trying to get into any network connected device, so it's not a hypothetical threat.

Cultureclub · 08/04/2022 19:28

"Bloody hell…Why did you sign this? If you have kids or people you are caring for this could cause massive issues even if you’d backed up into cloud…"
It's a general policy which has been implemented, previously we were asked to individually sign off these policies and I've declined.Despite intervention by the union it is still an approved work policy.
Noting it down on the appraisal has been useful and I think has worried them because my senior managers have breached the policy in that they should have approved my use of the phone with this checked and backed up by our IT department.Its a slippery slope and no-one should be using their personal phone in work

iseeyou1234 · 08/04/2022 19:29

You sound so petty OP and if I was your manager I would think that you’re just being a pain the ass. Is this really worth it?

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