Trend Micro Mobile Security 8.0 Aims at BYOD Businesses

Protection can be tailored for personally-owned and company-owned devices, with features including mobile-device management.

Cloud-based security specialist Trend Micro announced the release of Trend Micro Mobile Security (TMMS) 8.0, designed to bolster enforcement of existing password and encryption policies for businesses deploying bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiatives, as well as provide more granular remote-wipe capabilities. The platform also includes a mobile-application management system that allows IT to automatically push corporate apps to Apple iOS, Research In Motion BlackBerry and Google Android devices.

TMMS 8.0 provides mobile devices with protection from Web-based threats and malware and functionalities such as selective wipe and encryption tools to help keep sensitive corporate information secure, and is available as a plug-in for the company€™s OfficeScan solution, integrating directly into a business€™s existing IT management infrastructure.

"As personal mobile devices make their way into office environments, enterprises are seeing a much greater need to secure and manage these devices," Steve Quane of Trend Micro said in a press statement. "The rapid rise of malware threats targeting mobile platforms and the sheer number of devices being brought into offices only increases the danger. TMMS 8.0 is focused on allowing IT Administrators to simplify the management of their office environments, take advantage of the BYOD phenomenon and keep workforces productive and flexible."

Protection can be tailored for personally-owned and company-owned devices, with features including mobile-device management (MDM), which covers device enrollment and provisioning, as well as policy enforcement and inventory detail, mobile-device protection, which provides remote lock, remote wipe and password protection for devices that are lost or stolen.

The platform also includes mobile-application management (MAM) features, which are designed to help organizations control which apps are installed on certain devices, as well as provides businesses with the ability to push key apps to all devices. "BYOD creates new challenges for IT as personal mobile tools become important parts of corporate networks and applications," Steve Quane, chief product officer at Trend Micro, said in prepared remarks. "TMMS 8.0 gives customers the confidence they need to face these challenges."

As BYOD initiatives grow in popularity, business need to ensure they have the appropriate security infrastructure in place to guard against threats, according to a recent IDC Financial Insights report that examined ways IT security can be improved through MDM and MAM technologies. As these initiatives gain steam, IDC said MDM tools, such as robust security applications to remotely secure, monitor, encrypt and manage data, and MAM tools to ensure applications on and off the company network, are secure will be of major importance.