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Friday, Feb 24, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Feb 24, 2006 |
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M-Commerce Info-Tech - Security `More corporate users of mobile devices, more security threats' Forrester highlights need for adequate preparedness Our Bureau
New Delhi , Feb. 23 With mobile applications becoming an indispensable tool for an increasing number of corporate users, organisations would need to look at addressing the security aspect of these devices to deal with the risk of information theft and malicious codes, according to a latest report. The `Forrester Trends: Mobile Device Security in 2006' report predicted that the year would bring a number of headline security incidents involving mobile devices. "Mobile devices have become an indispensable productivity tool for many corporate users. Devices such as handhelds and smart-phones are used for e-mail, calendar, contact management, and line-of-business applications like sales force automation — putting the sensitive customer and corporate data at risk," the report said. Hence, the growing usage of mobile devices for business applications in the enterprise poses significant security threats, as customer and corporate data is dispersed on devices. "The device loss and theft will pose the most significant risk, but eventually, viruses and other malicious code will begin to emerge as a serious problem. To deal with the increased risk of information theft and malicious code affecting mobile devices, organisations must include mobile security in overall IT security policies, educate users about the security risks, and implement active countermeasures," it said. The report further states that addressing mobile security would require more than just technology. For most organisations, the first step would simply be to define the enterprise mobile and wireless strategy, and then assess the corporate assets carried on mobile devices linked to various types of networks. "Organisations should educate users about mobile security best practices and select mobile management and security tools based on risks. For example, enforcing password authentication provides basic security if a device is lost or stolen, whereas on-device encryption, on the other hand, is only necessary if confidential or proprietary data is stored on the device," it said. The report said it was time for organisations to start treating smart-phones and wireless Personal Data Assistants (handheld computers) as small yet fully functional computers connected to the enterprise, and not relatively safe personal devices that fall outside the purview of IT management.
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