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Mobile technologies - will they help or hinder your enterprise?

07 October 2005

The London terrorist attacks in July this year highlighted the ability of mobile devices to greatly assist emergency response efforts.

According to the Mail & Guardian Online, British Transport Police responding to the disaster used new Airwave handsets, which combine two-way radio, mobile phone and data terminal functionality.

The handsets enabled police to talk to each other, make calls to other agencies and access various police databases, all from a single device. Encryption prevented the information from being heard by people with radio scanners.

Furthermore, the footage from video phones used by victims after the attacks has provided police with vital clues about the sequence of events leading up to the bombings, and the terrorists themselves.

The aftermath of the bombings also highlighted the massive market penetration of mobile phones. This is a point which should not be lost on corporate enterprises, because it illustrates the need for companies to gain a better understanding of endpoint security.

The new endpoints

Now the ‘new endpoints’, mobile phones and handhelds have the ability to leave corporate networks dangerously exposed to malicious code.

Yet according to research house IDC, there is still debate about what actually constitutes endpoint security (EPS).

A recent IDC survey of 304 IT professionals and line-of-business managers found that 64% of respondents had EPS solutions, but the majority had trouble agreeing on what constitutes endpoint security.

According to CITEC Technical Product Consultant, Greg Smith, the boundary between the network and its endpoint, and the local network and external networks, is diminishing.

“And if you don’t know what or where the endpoint is, how do you secure it?” Greg asks.

“Typically, handhelds or mobile phones are now endpoint devices. People use these devices to store photographs, access corporate databases and synchronise email.”

Greg says that whilst the serious hard core computer hackers have yet to really turn their attention to mobile devices, the day is fast approaching when the possibility of viral attacks through mobiles and handhelds is as likely as it now is for computers.

“As we see more and more functionality added to mobiles and handhelds, the payoff for hacking into these devices will increase,” he said.

“The massive growth of wireless networks will only serve to facilitate the hackers’ efforts.”

Endpoint security - a few pointers

Greg says corporations with diverse and rapidly changing endpoints need to address security at both a policy and application level.

“Enterprises need a clearly defined security policy which stipulates the types of devices employees can use to access corporate networks.

“They also need a clearly designed security application capability, which automatically provides users with anti-virus protection when they synchronise their devices.”

Finally, Greg recommends enterprises use products with centralised architectures to simultaneously manage different endpoints.

“Undoubtedly, it is a challenge to manage security in the context of uniquely different mobile devices and a widening variety of networking environments, without incurring major costs and creating onerous administration processes,” Greg said.

“But the starting point needs to be on obtaining agreement across your business on what your endpoints actually are.”

For more information about how CITEC can assist your organisation to maintain ICT security in a complex operating environment, contact Greg Smith on +61 7 3222 2566 or info@citec.com.au