EMPLOYERS STRUGGLE TO KEEP EMPLOYEES’ MOBILE DEVICES SECURE
With the rise of personal mobile devices, a growing number of enterprises have scrapped the homogeneity mandate: instead of requiring employees to use a standard smartphone, more IT departments are now looking at some degree of control over employee-owned (or “employee-liable”) devices, to manage and secure them. “The corporate standards dam is breaking, as platforms like Android and iPhone push their way into the enterprise,” says Gartner Vice President Phillip Redman. “Most companies will accept these, and prepare guidelines and processes for managing and securing them.”
The approach needs to be systematic and comprehensive, says Khoi Nguyen, group product manager for the mobile security group at Symantec. Crucial elements are: general device and application management; security features to ensure policies are in place, enforced and up-to-date; and alerting and reporting on unauthorized access.