Partner Article

How to Secure Mobile Devices for Enterprise Use

With smartphones becoming the new cornerstone for modern communication, it is no surprise that they have transitioned to the corporate world. A recent IBM study reported than 84% of smartphone owners now utilize their device for both personal use and work purposes. On the flip-side, it also throws open up a whole new domain for IT professionals to secure against dangerous malware and privacy breaches. Over the last couple of years, mobile malware was reported to have quadrupled in number.

“The mobile platform holds tremendous business potential; however, its potential can be successfully tapped only if adequate security protocols are established to mitigate any risks to the business organization’s data,” notes Jay Caroll, Digital Media Strategist at the ERP solution provider, RandGroup.com.

Enterprises are restructuring their IT policies to facilitate the development of a multi-perimeter security system that also encompasses smartphones, tablets and cloud-based software. 55% of IT departments and IT security companies still lack an established strategy to manage moving data.

Nearly 51% of companies have reported data loss as a result of inadequately secure mobile devices. This is a grave matter of concern for companies as any compromise in the integrity of their business due to security breaches will severely damage the trust of your consumers in your organization.

Enterprise security policies must adapt to accommodate an efficient mobile risk management strategy in order to retain their competitive edge. Here are the 4 key aspects of mobile security that every enterprise must understand to succeed:

The BYOD Trend

The Bring Your Own Device trend was instrumental in leading to the massive adoption of smartphones as enterprise devices. Rather than boycott such devices to prevent security threats, organizations should work to capitalize on this trend by implementing more transparent and clear policies on the use of employee-owned smartphones and tablets for business purposes.

Secured Connectivity

Since mobile device access to enterprise data and resources occurs primarily outside enterprise precincts, it is essential to maintain fully secured channels for connectivity. This helps in preventing any unauthorized access to precious enterprise data and suppressing possible privacy violations.

Integrating Security Protocols with Mobile Solutions

Apps have become the quintessential carriers of solutions for mobile devices. An app with a smooth user interface and splendid functionality will help you go a long way; however, enterprises should take special care in integrating their security protocols in each stage of the app’s development cycle.

This helps ensure that your enterprise mobile solutions possess an inherent line of defense against any malware threats.

Devising a Mobile Risk Management Strategy

75% of security threats directly damage your brand reputation and customer satisfaction with your business. Since enterprise mobile devices are a lucrative target for hackers, it is important for companies to play a more proactive role in devising risk management techniques.

Detailed analysis of intelligence aggregated across all mobile engagements, identification of potential threats and automating appropriate responses to them is a great way to establish world class security standards for enterprise mobile devices.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Caper .