Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Mobile

    Careless Users Challenge Mobile Security

    By
    Gene J. Koprowski
    -
    October 10, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      CHICAGO—The primary security threat posed today by the surge in corporate use of mobile devices is not malware, industry pros said here Monday, pointing instead to missing mobile phones and lost PDAs.

      The discussion at the Mobile Business Expo sounded notes contrary to the conventional wisdom about security for mobile enterprise networks.

      For example, during one six-month period last year, in Chicago alone, business workers lost more than 85,000 mobile devices as they stepped out of cabs.

      “Thats a staggering amount of risk for companies,” said Vicki Warker, vice president of marketing and products at Sprint Nextel Corp.s Business Solutions group. “Their networks are exposed.”

      About 85 percent of a companys intellectual property can be discerned through its e-mail, said John Dolan, vice president of product management, wireless division, Oracle Corp. “And people still treat e-mail as a stepchild,” he added.

      These kinds of facts are changing the way network operators—and software developers—are thinking about mobile networks.

      “There is a power, and a danger in mobility,” Warker said to Ziff Davis Internet. “You can increase productivity. You can reduce cycle time. But the danger is the increasing complexity for your business. There is also the security risk.”

      There are some 162 million mobile subscribers in the U.S. today, she said, but only about 40 percent of organizations have a security policy for mobile applications.

      “There is a tremendous risk of loss of important data from an array of wireless access points—the office, the home, Wi-Fi,” said Warker. “But most of the spending is on anti-virus, and authentication technologies. Thats just not enough.”

      The reason that this kind of security is a problem is that most wireless networks were conceived as consumer networks, originally, and the business applications were overlaid, she said.

      “Verizon, Cingular and T-Mobile were built for the consumer,” said Tim Bradley, chief executive officer of Newtown, Pa.-based AirClic USA, a developer of wireless applications for businesses.

      Those firms, along with Nextel, control most of the wireless infrastructure in the United States.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifClick here to read more about companies efforts to push mobile security.

      Now that Sprint has merged with Nextel, the combined company is moving forward with a pilot security project that will enable the carrier to “zap” mobile phones that are lost in the field, and prevent the information on them, including e-mail messages, from being retrieved by competitors on the black market, Warker said.

      “Were trailing an enterprise network security product now,” she added.

      She also said that the network will require that mobile devices go through a three-step process to get on an enterprise network: authentication, interrogation, and then a final access decision.

      “Sprint does not just want to treat the enterprise like a big wireless consumer,” Warker said. “Endpoint access must be secure before the user is granted network access.”

      Other vendors at expo here touted different approaches to secure PDAs containing mission-critical information.

      Research in Motion Ltd. is working with PGP Corp. to enable users of BlackBerry devices to receive, and send, PGP-secured e-mail.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifFor advice on how to secure your network and applications, as well as the latest security news, visit Ziff Davis Internets Security IT Hub.

      “We believe the news will be welcomed by many enterprise customers that have chosen and deployed PGP [pretty good privacy] technology,” said Mark Guibert, RIM vice president of corporate marketing.

      The technology is designed to work with PGPs universal solution and provide e-mail encryption, decryption, digital signature and verification services for messages sent from Blackberry devices.

      Users may authenticate themselves with private pass-phrases before decrypting or signing e-mail. In addition, outgoing e-mail messages are automatically encrypted, he said. The technology is expected to be available later this year.

      Other analysts here, however, said that the focus for businesses needs to move from communications-centric technologies to “process-centric technologies,” said Brian Rosenberg, senior vice president of mobile systems at Ericsson Inc.

      “There need to be process-centric applications developed for field force management, dispatching, telemetry and mobile health care.”

      Most of those vertical enterprise solutions and technologies will emerge from partnerships between the mobile telcos and software developers.

      One such project was a collaboration in Europe between Hewlett-Packard Co. and Ericsson, which resulted in 30 percent cost savings for HP, Rosenberg said.

      The project gave users the ability to make calls on a mobile network in the United States, from the field, and have it routed through a PBX, domestically, for an in-house network, eliminating the long-distance calling charge.

      But a problem with these ad hoc, off-the-shelf technology solutions is that, ultimately, enterprise customers will still have to “cobble their own solution together in the end,” said Warker. “Theres just a confusing array of vendors.”

      /zimages/3/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzers Weblog.

      Gene J. Koprowski

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×