 |
 Mobile devices improve productivity, but increase the risk
of compromising sensitive data.
Consider the data that resides on your organization's laptops. Do those laptops contain client information, intellectual property, customer identity files, financial plans or other sensitive and valuable data? What would happen if that data were to end up in the wrong hands? The answer is all too evident.
A single data loss event can cost a company millions of dollars. Negative publicity, loss of brand reputation, costly litigation, and reduced competitive advantage are among the possible consequences. In addition, much of the data resident on computers is subject to provisions of various federal and state laws, some of which carry significant financial penalties.
Today, most data is protected with sign-on passwords at the operating system level. Because many people use simple passwords that are easy to remember, it also makes them easier to crack. Significant effort is being made to encourage the use of stronger passwords. Unfortunately, users may feel compelled to write down more complex passwords to prevent forgetting them, negating their benefit. Companies that use tokens or other external authentication devices depend on users keeping the tokens secure and separate from their laptop computer. Naturally, users prefer to carry the token with the computer to ensure that they don’t misplace it, thereby undermining the security of a token system in the first place.
Encryption alone, while important, still depends on the above access controls. Additionally, use of whole disk encryption may add significant inconvenience to both the users and the administrators of the devices. For example, secondary encryption passwords are often used which adds to user and Help Desk support burdens, it may add enough CPU cycle overhead to be annoying to users, and it may interfere with operating system security and disk utilities.
Mobile data is particularly at risk:
- About 10% of all laptops will be stolen, and less than 3% of these are likely to be recovered. (IT Architect)
- Laptop theft is the second most prevalent form of computer attack, behind only viruses. (CSI/FBI Survey)
- As much as 60% of corporate data resides unprotected on PC desktops and laptops. (IDC Analyst)
|
|
