Sophos enhanced its security portfolio by expanding endpoint protection to mobile devices.
Sophos has enhanced its
security portfolio to provide "complete protection" for all endpoints,
including mobile devices, desktops and laptops, regardless of where the user
is.
Sophos unveiled the Sophos
Mobile Control, a new mobile-device-management platform that will allow IT
departments to securely protect all employee devices, on May 17. The company
also updated its SafeGuard Enterprise software and Sophos Endpoint Security and
Data Protection platform to provide better support for data encryption.
Enterprises face two major
security challenges, a mobile workforce and the consumerization
of IT, Rainer Gawlick, the chief marketing officer at Sophos, told eWEEK.
Employees are using their personal mobile devices to get onto the company
network and access corporate data. IT departments have to somehow manage
devices the company doesn't own to ensure corporate data remains protected,
according to Gawlick.
The day the iPad came out,
the CEO of a Sophos customer told his IT department, "I expect to be able to
use it. Make it happen." Gawlick said this was a "core use case," and in many
cases, IT managers have to balance these requests with compliance regulations
that require strict data controls.
IT administrators are
looking for an "uncomplicated" platform that "just works," Gawlick said.
With Sophos Mobile Control,
IT administrators can configure security settings for all devices and lock down
unwanted features, such as disabling the camera. They can also enforce
policies, such as making sure that sites that employees can't browse on the
desktop are also blocked on their mobile browsers. The policies can also
control what kind of applications can be installed on the devices.
Unlike "vanilla PCs,"
there's generally only one way to be compromised on a mobile device, and that's
via the "front door" when an application is being installed, Gawlick said. The
application policy would apply whether the user is trying to download an application
or if a rogue site is trying to stealthily install malware.
Sophos Mobile Control will
allow IT managers to encrypt all data stored on iPhones, iPads, and Android and
Windows Mobile devices to ensure the data is protected even when the devices
are lost. This will be very important for organizations that must meet
compliance requirements, according to Gawlick. The system also offers other
data-protection capabilities, including over-the-air remote wipes, the ability
to remotely lock devices, and blocking specific applications and features.
Organizations can control
access to corporate email using a secure "gate" which allows only properly
secured and registered devices to access the servers, according to Sophos. This
way, employees can't get on the mail server without registering the device with
the IT department.
Employees don't have to wait
for the IT administrator to remotely lock or wipe phones if they are stolen as
they will have access to a self-service portal to perform those tasks
themselves.
As for other improvements,
Sophos enhanced the SafeGuard Enterprise software to support encryption of USB
removable devices. Sophos improved performance so that there is no
"perceptible" impact to having encryption on the drive, according to Gawlick.
"Performance issues are no longer an excuse for not using encryption," Gawlick
said.
The Sophos Endpoint Security
and Data Protection has been updated with automatic policy-based location-aware
updates for mobile networks and more granular tools to define data-loss-prevention
policies. This ensures that employees are protected regardless of whether they
are inside or outside the office, according to Gawlick.
Sophos Mobile Control will
be available at $65 per user and Sophos SafeGuard Enterprise 5.60 (SGN) at $70
per user, the company said. Sophos Endpoint Security and Data Protection will
be available at $51.50 per user per year. All pricing is based on a 100-user
license.
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