www.securitymagazine.com/blogs/14-security-blog/post/81431-more-evidence-mobile-devices-threaten-enterprises-from-within-1

More Evidence: Mobile Devices Threaten Enterprises from Within

August 25, 2010

Today, most office workers carry mobile phones into work. Much of the time, the devices are more advanced smartphones, such as Android-based phones, Blackberry devices, or Apple iPhones. The employees almost never consider the security implications of bringing connected devices behind a company’s firewall. Yet the trend has not escaped the notice of chief security officers and information-technology administrators. Smartphones are becoming prolific within enterprises, but the security teams do not really have a handle on how to secure the devices, said the CEO of Lookout, a mobile security firm. “They have spent a vast amount of resources in terms of dollars and time to defend their corporate networks and the traditional network security perimeter, but the mobile device â?¦ has trusted access to the very critical data at the soft and chewy center of the company,” he said. “It’s almost a Trojan horse into the enterprise itself.” In other words, insider attacks may come not from a malicious employee, but from an ignorant employee bringing a compromised device into the workplace. The conclusion is not a surprise: Over the past year, security researchers and attacker have increasingly focused on smartphones and other mobile platforms. The attention highlighted a bevy of potential attack scenarios, including information leakage and outright control of the personal devices.

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