Companies continue to leave their security measures short when it comes to protection against mobile device risks

(07/09/2010)

Mobile technology has become so mature and commonplace that the traditional boundaries between home and the workplace are being steadily eroded. According to a forecast released earlier this year by IDC the world's mobile worker population will pass the one billion mark this year and grow to nearly 1.2 billion people – more than a third of the world's workforce – by 2013.

Today working while on the move has never been easier and no one gives a second thought to sharing content across different electronic devices or even storing it in the Cloud. A study in May this year by the security vendor Clearswift found that 63 percent of workers use a work laptop, while nearly the same figure (57 percent) uses a home laptop for work. Another 37 percent use a smartphone as an ‘always on’ link to their office.

The ever rising numbers of mobile computers, notebooks and smart phones is forcing the business world to face an uncomfortable truth. The IT department is no longer in sole charge of purchasing decisions. Mobile devices and technologies are with us 24/7 and keeping personal use separate from work is often troublesome. If an employee wants an iPhone they go out and buy one. And if the need arises they will not hesitate to use it to sync with data from company systems.

According to a customer survey by the spam and web filtering software vendor SpamTitan in June this year, just thirty percent of companies using their WebTitan solution are also using it to filter mobile web access. They encountered every conceivable scenario from remote workers to home-based workers to road warriors using laptops, smart phones and other mobile devices to access the company network.

With only a minority of companies currently extending office-based Web security policies and protection to their mobile workforce there is a substantial opportunity for resellers to help their customers plug the security gaps. Since mobile devices are constrained by processing power or battery life the most suitable solutions are those that are installed on a network server. From there it should be relatively straightforward for a reseller to extend filtering capabilities to cover mobile and laptop users.

A layered approach to protection is key. Companies need a variety of tools deployed in an intelligent way to monitor, manage and control how different individuals access applications being used in the workplace. The best solutions allow for flexible policy controls where certain groups, departments or individual can have customised internet access depending on company internet policy. The latest web filtering software allows resellers to help companies easily extend their Internet policies to their remote workers to prevent them accessing malicious and inappropriate content no matter whether they are in the office or on the road.

In summary many companies continue to leave their security measures short when it comes to protection against mobile device risks – networks are effectively being left “home alone” to fend for themselves. We should seize this opportunity to show the customers how their policies security can be extended to cover the risks posed by the personal devices and smart phones they are bringing into the workplace.

Related topics:  Mobile and Wireless Security   Network Security   Security management and policies 

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