SmartPhone and Tablet Security
Smartphones and tablets have changed the way we work, so no longer are employees slaves to their desks. These PDA/cell phone combos help employees at all levels within the organization stay in touch with the office, get work done on the road, check e-mail, obtain news, and more.
Despite their overwhelming presence in today’s society, smartphones and tablets perpetually straddle the line between modern convenience and disruptive nuisance. The phone calls, text messages, pictures and other data relayed to family members, friends, doctors, or even co-workers while on the job are the source of many interrupted business meetings or disgruntled employees, which is why creating a cell phone policy is key to preserving the (literal) peace of your workplace environment. So what security is required for these business users?
Security and use policy for mobile devices such as SmartPhone and tables should include the following:
- Lock the device automatically after it is used
- Implement a find-me application with GPS to locate lost devices
- Implement a self-destruct process both remotely and when the authentication fails after x tries
- Implement a mobile anti-virus for the device -- do not depend on the host e-mail server to do it for you
- Implement a multi-factor user authentication process -- manage the identity of the user with the same level of security as if they were on a laptop accessing your network
- Use applictions like Google Apps to manage the security policies
- Implement Mobile Device Management - encrypt data in motion, remotely enforce application password policies, remotely wipe enterprise data off of devices, partitation sensitive data and set role-based access rights.
- Establish enterprise infrastructure policies - define the versions of OS, software, and application that will be supported
- Integrate and secure email - limit person use of corporate email accounts and do not let users merge personal and private email.
- Define and enforce records management policies including back and recovery
