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5 Must-Haves For A Secure Mobile Workforce

Symantec

By Solange Deschatres

Cyber security analysts have discovered a huge gap between the behavior of users on PCs and that of those on mobile devices. Even though many mobile devices can now do almost anything a PC can do, consumers aren’t treating them the same way when it comes to their security behaviors, creating the perfect opportunity for cybercriminals. While at least 70% of PC users are deleting suspicious emails, using antivirus solutions and avoiding storing sensitive files online, that ratio drops dramatically for mobile users.

It’s time to develop a strategy for the future of your mobile enterprise, and to do it today.

Mobile Employees Invite Additional Risk

According to ABI Research, by 2016, 40% of the workforce will be strictly mobile, and connected ‘wearables’ for the enterprise will reach $18 billion by 2019.

Across the enterprise, employees are accessing company information on their devices without any oversight. IT departments are often frustrated with how to increase productivity and embrace BYOD, while protecting sensitive company data. This is while the threat landscape for mobile continues to grow each year and the number of mobile threats that track the user has doubled.

“Mobile moves very quickly,” said Maribel Lopez, CEO of Lopez Research, in an interview with ZDNet.com. “The five-year plan is probably not as relevant, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need a strategy.” Supporting mobility across most organizations has long ceased to be a matter of ‘if’ and much more one of ‘how.’

So, what should enterprises do to protect the business, while not discouraging the positive aspects and benefits that BYOD delivers?

A Practical Foundation For Building A Strategy

According to Symantec’s Vice President of Mobility Products, Michael Lin, to develop a mobile enterprise strategy, it’s important to first have a clear understanding of the use cases. Often there is a hybrid of corporate-owned and personally-owned devices at a company. However, BYOD is popular among millennials, with 51% of 21-32 year old surveyed employeesstating they would contravene any policy in place banning the use of personal devices at work or for work purposes.

In order to remain secure, employers should determine which apps their employees are using, and their use cases, as well as which devices and operating systems. Also:

  • Run pilots: Test products end to end, as an end user, regardless of device. You will soon find out where your company fits – in a CYOD or a BYOD model. Ensure every member of the IT team who solves mobile problems has a clear understanding of the challenges they are tackling.
  • Seek feedback: Recommend creating a team to learn the customer problems and present them back to the BYOD project team.
  • Make changes: Be willing to iterate, as no system will be perfect the first time. Remember: ‘Iterate is great’!

The 5 ‘Must-Haves’ for Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)

According to Maribel Lopez, enterprise mobility security happens at multiple levels. “Security happens at a device level, an applications level, a network level, and a data protection level, and I think we’ve all kind of agreed that you need a strategy that solves all of these problems, “ she says.

Symantec experts offer the following “must-haves” for a successful EMM strategy:

1. Device management:

  • Enable devices to access key corporate assets, such as email and documents.
  • Apply advanced security settings to ensure corporate compliance.

2. App management:

  • Secure data in corporate apps, regardless of the device.
  • Wrap a layer of security and policy management around any app.
  • Distribute apps by user role from a customizable enterprise app store.

3. Threat Protection:

  • Guard mobile devices against malware and prevent vulnerabilities.
  • Apply security policies for jailbroken/rooted devices or by OS.
  • Use app screening and reputation analysis tools, such as Norton Mobile Insight technology.

4. Content Management:

  • Easily distribute and secure content to end-user mobile devices.
  • Access files stored on the network or cloud with enterprise mobility tools, like Symantec Sealed apps.

5. Identity & Access Control:

  • Provide strong authentication and authorization for access to enterprise applications and resources, using digital certificates or security credentials.
  • Leverage authentication methods, such as LDAP and SAML, for single sign-on.

Ultimately, EMM lays groundwork so that the enterprise can develop and grow modern agile business practices to compete in an ever more competitive landscape, and empower employee productivity in a world of evolving technologies.

Make sure to visit: Symantec.com/mobility for more information.

Solange Deschatres is blogger, journalist, and storyteller with expertise in covering enterprise security and technology.