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Risky business
Creativity, collaboration and sharing all bring valuable advantages, but there’s clear evidence it
breeds risk. Six out of ten of those asked are happy to let others regularly (at least once a
month) use their work smartphones, while a fifth don’t have passwords on their mobile devices
at all. Despite all of this, there’s no question firms need to nurture creativity and be sure not to
stifle #GenMobile’s openness, innovation and collaboration, while at the same time minimise the
risk of data and information loss.
Managing #GenMobile
Given #GenMobile’s benefits, accepting some small degree of risk is good – but only if you and
your organisation can understand and plan for the security risks these behaviours bring with
them.
Great mobile security starts in the air
A good place to start is to put in place a secure, yet adaptable, wireless network within the
workplace. Here are a few things to consider:
Deploy flexible security policies that are capable of analysing – and acting on - the
context of how the employee is using the mobile device. For instance, does the
person have the authority to access the information? Where is he or she accessing it
from, and from what device? Depending on the context, different policies can be
applied to make sure that the right balance between flexibility and security can be
applied on an individual-by-individual basis.
Regulate Wi-Fi traffic with intelligent policy firewalls that can keep track of app usage.
This ensures that different apps are classified according to its security rating based
on the role of the employee within the organization. These apps would be allowed to
be used on select mobile devices by select users, only if they satisfy live security
monitoring by the policy firewall and cloud-powered content filtering.
Make sure that all communications over the air are encrypted and sent over secure
channels. This requires a smart combination of encryption and VPN-on-demand
technologies that prevent information from being snooped on, and – even in the
event that the information falls into the wrong hands – is rendered gibberish.
So, there are ways for employers to keep their #GenMobile employees happy and productive,
without sacrificing mobile security. By all means, organisations should embrace #GenMobile’s
penchant for openness, innovation and collaboration; but only when they can understand and
plan for the security risks these behaviours bring along.
About the Author
Sabahat Nasim, Channel Sales Manager – Gulf at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard
Enterprise company
5 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – April 2016 Edition
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