Protecting laptops with security policies is a given in this day
and age, but for many companies, smartphones and other mobile
devices are often neglected.
Yesterday, Redwood City, Calif.-based Network Chemistry released
the latest version of its RFprotect Endpoint software, which has
been enhanced to protect smartphones, as well as notebooks.
Brian de Haaff, Network Chemistry's vice president of product
management and marketing, said managers can now use RFprotect
Endpoint to centrally manage and set security policies for
smartphones, whether they're connected at the office, at home or on
the road.
According to a recent study by Gartner Inc., 22% of enterprise
workforces use some form of mobile applications. Couple that with
the fact that smartphone shipments are expected to increase 66% to
roughly 81 million by year's end, and it's clear that wireless and
mobile devices are quickly becoming standard and necessary business
tools.
Much like laptops, smartphones offer both convenience and
connectivity, but they increase the risk of data loss and
unauthorized access to corporate resources. Oftentimes, the
manufacturer's default settings can create vulnerabilities,
jeopardizing network infrastructure and confidential data.
 | | | | | ...End users will always select
connectivity over security.
Brian de Haaff
Vice President of Product Management and MarketingNetwork
Chemistry |
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De Haaff, who called smartphones "laptop lights," said RFprotect
Endpoint offers a single platform to apply policy to laptops and
smartphones that run Microsoft's
Windows Mobile platform or the
Symbian operating systems. De Haaff said Network Chemistry
decided on Windows Mobile and Symbian after weighing the various
platforms and operating systems to determine their openness.
"How open is the platform to run new applications?" de Haaff
said.
End users often ignore or are unaware of the fact that certain
behavior is dangerous, and, as de Haaff said, "end users will
always select connectivity over security."
Also, companies still struggle with how to manage and enforce
policy on hundreds and thousands of enterprise devices.
RFprotect Endpoint enforces wireless security policy outside the
enterprise to ensure that data privacy is maintained and compliance
regulations are met. It also lets organizations deploy a single
network connection policy framework on laptops and smartphones for
wired, wireless LAN and wireless broadband connections. RFprotect
Endpoint also provides detailed reporting and audition by device
based on when, where and what networks were used, which can ensure
compliance with industry and government regulations.
Ensuring compliance has become a necessity, too, and according
to recent research from the BPM Forum, many companies aren't up to
snuff when it comes to mobile compliance.
Adriano Gonzalez, vice president of strategy and programming for
the BPM Forum, said the study found that 40% of companies have no
security in place to protect against data leakage and fulfill
compliance requirements. Of that 40%, 65% said mobile compliance
and security are not even on their radar screens. Also, the study
found that 37% of respondents are only nominally concerned about
mobile device security despite negative publicity associated with
mobile security breaches.
According to de Haaff, RFprotect Endpoint can protect mobile
devices by allowing enterprises to set policies that allow
connections to pre-approved networks only, preventing them from
connecting to rogue access points, ad hoc networks and evil-twin
attackers. It integrates with Microsoft Active Director for group
policy setting and features management support for various wireless
technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EVDO, HSDPA and
GPRS/EDGE.
Jack Gold, president and founder of J. Gold Associates, a
Northborough, Mass.-based research and advisory firm, said
RFprotect Endpoint should be used as a partial security solution to
protect smartphones. He said other security vendors, such as
Credent and Sybase iAnywhere, offer more complete solutions.
RFprotect Endpoint seems to focus solely on what network a device
can connect to, Gold said, not what a user does with the data on
the device.
"While this is not a trivial issue -- what network and how I
connect -- it is equally important to protect the entire device and
all its data," he said.
Joe Stocker, manager of network engineering for SunCal
Companies, said, however, that the proliferation of smartphones and
other mobile devices makes it necessary to protect how those
devices connect and to what networks.
"When a smartphone starts becoming an 802.11 client on your
network, it gets an IP address, and that can become a security
threat," Stocker said. "It certainly has the capability to be just
as damaging as a laptop."
SunCal Companies, the largest privately held community developer
in the western United States, has roughly 250 wireless devices
deployed, many of which are smartphones, Stocker said. He noted
that smartphones are an entry point into the network, and keeping
them secure is a solid way to manage risk. SunCal Companies use
RFprotect Endpoint for laptop security, he said, adding that he
hopes to try it out for smartphones soon.
Stocker said that as smartphones have matured and evolved, so
have the potential risks they can introduce, making it necessary to
set policies to protect them from connecting to the network from
non-IT-authorized areas.
"Smartphones are really behind the firewall," he said. "And as
these phones evolve and take advantage of corporate networks,
you're really going to see companies taking a look at [protecting
them]."