COMMENT
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.
Furthermore, more than half (56%)
of employees will disobey their boss to
get something done, and over threequarters are happy to perform selfservice IT. #GenMobile thinks nothing
of going rogue when it comes to tech.
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
www.intelligentcio.com
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
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 organisation. These apps would
be allowed to be used on selected
mobile devices by selected users, only
if they satisfy live security monitoring
by the policy firewall and cloudpowered 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.
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