Bringing IT mobility to the workforce

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BALLERINI: If they aren’t deployed and managed properly, smartphones can present significant security risks.

"However, enterprises also need to keep an eye on the problem of mobile viruses, which is not yet a major threat, but could soon be a serious concern with a steadily increasing number of remote workers accessing the Internet through their mobile devices.

Organisations need to extend their internet usage policy, data protection and anti-malware protection to their mobile workforce and should implement strict security measures against the malware which is spreading across many destructive web sites," he adds.

Ghazal went on to say that these security policies should also control what type of access to the corporate network employees have while working remotely.

In addition they should enforce the use of encryption for sensitive data stored on the device or data in motion to and from the device. As a company, Secure Computing champions the use of software-based two-factor users authentication to provide an additional layer of data protection.

This also involves technology such as the company's MobilePass client software that generates fresh ‘one-time only' passwords produced directly on both handheld and portable devices.

Another key vertical where large scale mobile deployments can be found is the construction industry, which for the last few decades has been a key driver in the growth of Gulf countries.

This has necessitated a rapid evolution from the construction industry itself, both within the operational offices that architect the projects and on site among the workers. Mobile computing devices have become an integral part of any major build project at a level far beyond the mobile phone.

"The pace of technological change in mobile computing has been as rapid as the burgeoning construction sector and there have been innumerable areas where building firms and their supporting partners have put products from our range into deployment, especially where full and permanent connectivity was required - a field that Fujitsu Siemens Computers has built up a solid market leadership in," says Andreas Thimmel, senior vice president volume business for Fujitsu Siemens Computers.

"Crucially, this has meant that the right data and communication channels have been open at the right time to the people that need it - and information, as we know, builds efficiency. Jobs have been completed faster, closer to budget, safer and with less overall cost and power consumption. This is particularly important for our company as we strive to champion the cause of green computing across the Middle East," he adds.

So with the question of security provisioning for the mobile workforce reasonably well identified here, the next logical step is to define responsibility for these controls so that we can measure and manage their effectiveness.

Broadly speaking, it is only the security specialist IT vendors who will appoint a ‘chief security officer' to act as a spokesperson on data risk. For most companies the obligation for data protection falls to the IT department.

This may sound like a simplistic statement, but unless the process is identified and a strategy is defined and agreed upon - it may not happen at all.

"Arabian businesses should make the IT department and, preferably, the PC team responsible for wireless PDAs and smartphones; more than 50% of Global 2000 enterprises already have. Wireless PDAs and smartphones are increasingly used together with or as a complement to laptops.

Middle Eastern enterprises should use the same processes to manage wireless PDAs and smartphones as PCs and, when available, leverage the same tools.

By making the same team responsible for all mobile devices, maintaining user policies in a single location and uniformly enforcing them, regardless of device, is greatly facilitated. In addition, the interface to the help desk function is streamlined," says vice president Leif-Olof Wallin of Gartner Research.

"Large organisations are increasingly, where possible, separating device ownership from voice and data subscriptions. IT departments should segment the user base into profiles and ensure that each profile has the right combination of devices, voice, services, training, software and support," he added.

If Middle Eastern businesses are to fully profit from the use of mobile computing devices then they need to provide a security layer commensurate with the sensitivity and economic value of the data they hold.

This will require focus with a view to user behaviour. It may be down to restricting the ability to download third-party applications; establishing procedures for employees to follow if they loose their smartphone or laptop; or more intuitive controls placed over corporate VPN access from any type of device. With luck, it will be all of these.

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