Four ways enterprise IT can reduce mobile risk

From company-issued tablets to BYOD (bring your own device) smartphones, employees are making the case that mobile devices are essential for productivity, job satisfaction, and competitive advantage. Except in the most regulated industries, phones and tablets are part of the landscape, but their presence requires a strong security focus, especially in the era of non-stop malware, high-profile hacks, and new vulnerabilities found in popular mobile platforms. Here are four specific ways of examining this challenge that can help drive the choice of both policies and technologies for reducing mobile risk.

Protect the network: Letting any mobile device on the business network is a risk, because if the device is compromised, the network (and all of its servers and other assets) may be compromised as well. Consider isolating internal WiFi links to secured network segments, and only permit external access via virtual private networks (VPNs). Install firewalls that guard the network by recognizing not only authorized devices, but also authorized users — and authorized applications. Be sure to keep careful tabs on devices accessing the network, from where, and when.

Protect the device: A mobile device can be compromised in many ways: It might be stolen, or the user might install malware that provides a gateway for a hacker. Each mobile device should be protect by strong passwords not only for the device, but on critical business apps. Don’t allow corporate data to be stored on the device itself. Ensure that there are remote-wipe capabilities if the device is lost. And consider installed a Mobile Device Management (MDM) platform that can give IT full control over the mobile device – or at least those portions of a employee-owned device that might ever be used for business purposes.

Protect the data: To be productive with their mobile devices, employees want access to important corporate assets, such as email, internal websites, ERP or CRM applications, document repositories, as well as cloud-based services. Ensure that permissions are granted specifically for needed services, and that all access is encrypted and logged. As mentioned above, never let corporate data – including documents, emails, chats, internal social media, contacts, and passwords – be stored or cached on the mobile device. Never allow co-mingling of personal and business data, such as email accounts. Yes, it’s a nuisance, but make the employee log into the network, and authenticate into enterprise-authorized applications, each and every time. MDM platforms can help enforce those policies as well.

Protect the business: The policies regarding mobile access should be worked out along with corporate counsel, and communicated clearly to all employees before they are given access to applications and data. The goal isn’t to be heavy-handed, but rather, to gain their support. If employees understand the stakes, they become allies in helping protect business interests. Mobile access is risky for enterprises, and with today’s aggressive malware, the potential for harm has never been higher. It’s not too soon to take it seriously.