The Next IT Revolution: Mobile Devices and Consumer Apps
To put the title into perspective, consider the three following inventions:
- The wheel
- The light bulb
- The internet
All these inventions were disruptive and very significant milestones in the history of mankind. Some might even say that they each revolutionized the world. Given how mobile devices have become an integral part of many people's lives, one could make a case for adding mobile devices and consumer apps to this list.
Consumerization of IT
Besides the impact on our personal lives, the consumerization of mobile devices within the business realm is drastically changing the way we look at security and do business.
Enabling workers to use mobile devices on the job is essential for growth and development. It is one of the top issues that CIOs and CEOs are faced with in 2012. The use of mobile devices, such as tablets and smart phones, can be beneficial and detrimental at the same time. Use of these tech-savvy devices without the proper security measures opens businesses up to new vulnerabilities.
Disruptive Growth
According to Flurry Analytics, there were over 20 million mobile devices activated between December 24 and 25, 2011¹. They also found that more than 1.2 billion mobile apps were downloaded during the 2011 holiday week¹. The use of mobile apps allows users to do more than simple phone tasks; however, users need to be careful when downloading apps, — it only takes 3 minutes to infect a legitimate app and put it back on the open market for purchase or download. These infected apps are hard to identify and are capable of accessing information on your phone, performing command tasks, and controlling different applications, such as recording phone calls, texts, and turning cameras and microphones on and off, — all without your knowledge. Websense® Security Labs™ has scanned over 137,000 mobile apps on the open market and found more 700 of them to be malicious. Also, a recent study by Daseint found that 8% of all Android mobile apps leak personal data². Personal data could also be your corporate, confidential data.
Websense Security Labs has scanned over 137,000 mobile apps on the open market and found more than 700 of them to be malicious.
It’s the Data not the Device
Many vendors are offering a mobile device management (MDM) solution. These solutions are often expensive and do not address the root of the problem. Sure they can enforce some basic security settings like remote lock and wipe, password enforcement, and encryption, but these are manufactures’ default settings that you can enable without extra charge.
Next Steps
You need a solution that combines MDM capabilities with mobile security that protects the data on your device. Mobile devices are the wave of the future. Allowing your employees to leverage cutting-edge technology will help your business develop and become more efficient. Start taking measures to secure mobile devices by creating an acceptable use policy for mobile devices, train your IT department on how to handle mobile devices, and start budgeting for a security solution.
¹ "App downloads surged to 1.2 billion during Christmas week." Techspot.com, Burgess, R., Jan. 4, 2012.
² “Cyberthugs love smartphones and leaky, sneaky mobile malware.” Computerworld.com, Storm,D. 21 July. 2011
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