A new report from the Enterprise Mobility Network highlights that 80 per cent of businesses don’t have even a basic policy on how staff can use mobile devices while at work.
The ‘On the move but locked down’ report looks at the interaction of mobile technologies and information security risk and suggests that first and easiest step for many companies is the implementation of a simple checklist of mobile do’s and don’ts.
The report identifies a number of key tactics for increasing security in the mobile age, including end-to-end encryption, geo-location via GPS or triangulation, biometric identification as part of shared devices, the use of one-time pass-codes (OTP) for authentication, and using a chip inside the phone as a secure, encrypted RFID source of credentials.
Andrew Moloney, CEO of Artisan Southwest and author of the report, said, “It is incredible that despite the prevalence of mobile devices, as many as eight out of 10 businesses still lack a written policy on mobile device use.
“As a result, the lowest hanging fruit is also the cheapest and doesn’t require any extra spending, just the time to compile and distribute a written policy outlining a few simple steps. This alone can improve the security of mobile technologies in any business.”
Sharon Clancy from the Enterprise Mobility Network said, “It is clear that the ‘walls of Jericho’ that once surrounded corporate information and the infrastructure over which it flowed have long since fallen. Whether it’s an iPad as part of a BYOD policy, ruggedised hardware in a delivery van, SMS details of a job sent to a mobile phone or even good old-fashioned print-outs of customer details, businesses must now have an awareness that security needs to be pervasive without being invasive – and that means a security policy that accounts for mobile.”
