Protect your mobile device – Part 2: Training

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Training is an important, early step in any process; informing end-users of the need to secure their mobile devices is critical. Recommended training topics:

● Why we need to authenticate and encrypt

● How to reduce the risk of loss or theft

● How to safely deploy new applications

● How to securely backup your data

 

Authenticate and encrypt

 

Authentication is the process of confirming that the end-user is authorized to use the mobile device in a prescribed manner. It is typically handled through a username with a complex password that is changed frequently.  (A complex password requires at least three of four character options – capital letter, lower-case letter, numeric, and special character – with at least eight characters.)

 

Increasingly, biometrics (fingerprint verification, eye-scans, etc.) are playing a role in authentication.

 

Sensitive data should be encrypted to make it unreadable if the device is lost or stolen. (Encryption scrambles the content, making it unreadable to anyone without the capability to unencrypt.) Authentication is required to unencrypt and access the data.

Reduce the risk of loss or theft

 

Cell phones are easy targets for theft; they can be sold on-the-street and are (still) easily programmed to a new service on a cellular network.

 

To prevent theft:

● Be vigilant; know where your cell phone is at all times and keep it close to your body. (It doesn’t always help: One of our clients had his cellphone taken right from his hand by a man on a bike on a busy city street; the bicyclist also gave him a kick to discourage pursuit.)

● Install phone-tracking software

● Install a physical locking device

 

Safely deploy new applications

 

Mobile-device users download applications through app stores installed on the device. App stores are increasingly targeted areas for malware distribution; only trusted and approved applications should be downloaded and deployed. (Most app stores have responded by requiring additional security precautions from their customers.)

 

For company-owned devices, end-users should have specific guidelines on what applications can or cannot be deployed; ideally, an enforcement mechanism would be installed on the mobile device to ensure these policies are followed. For employee-owned devices, this policy may need to be recommended rather than required.

 

Securely backup your data

 

To prevent loss or inadvertent deletion, data stored on a mobile device (pictures, documents, contacts, etc.) should be backed-up in an encrypted format to a separate, secure location.

 

Backups should be required on devices owned by the organization and strongly recommended for individually owned devices. Backups should be scheduled periodically and verified.

 

Online, consumer-oriented backup and file-storage applications – spritemobile, DropBox, Mozy, SugarSync – are somewhat restricted by the mobile-device operating system in what type of data that they can backup; typically contacts, calendars, tunes, and photos. Full backups are usually done through tethering (attaching the phone to an external device).

 

Visit Enterprise Security Policies for Mobile Device Backup and Restore atDummies.com for an informative article on mobile-device backup.

 

Next month (part 3): We will discuss enforcement, review a few tools, and wrap-up with first-step suggestions.

DNS-changing malware in the news this week

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A well-publicized, DNS-changing malware was detected and temporarily thwarted by the FBI late last year.  The FBI will remove its temporary fix at midnight on Monday, July 9th, which could cause any remaining infected machines to lose their Internet connection.

 

Windows-based PCs managed by Bryley Systems under our Comprehensive Support Program are not at risk.  The risk to all other PCs exists, but most carriers of the DNSChanger malware had been notified previously.

 

To determine if your PC might have this malware, please visitwww.DNS-OK.us, a US site created to check the DNS settings on your computer.  If infected, the banner on this site will be red in color and will alert you.  (A Canadian version of this same test is available athttp://www.dns-ok.ca/. in both English and French.)

 

There are tools to remove this infection, but please feel free to contact us at 978.562.6077 if you require assistance.

 

 

See DNS-Changer Malware for additional information.

Protect your mobile device – Part 1

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The need to secure newer mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) has grown since they now meet the basic criteria for malicious, cyberspace-based attack:

  • Developer kits are readily available
  • Mobile devices are in widespread use throughout the world
  • Motivation is increasing since usable/saleable data live on these devices

 

In addition, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has introduced related, security-oriented concerns and complexities:

  • How can we accommodate personal equipment in the workplace, particularly when two-thirds of 20-something workers in a recent survey from research firm Vision Critical state that “they, not the company, should be responsible for the security of devices used for work purposes”?1
  • How do we manage the large variety of mobile devices, many with differing operating systems, processing capabilities, and user interfaces?
  • How do we structure our security offerings to permit broad access to low-risk functions while restricting high-risk activities on a need-to-have basis?

 

Protecting a smartphone (or tablet) gets easier if you take the perspective of Garin Livingstone, one of our technical staff, who pointed out: “It is just a small computer; all of the same security concerns and rules that apply to PCs also apply to smartphones.”

 

As described in a recent InformationWeek article2, corporate response from the IT department should consist of these three stages:

  • Set policy for mobile device use
  • Train users
  • Enforce

 

Mobile-device-use policies should protect company data, while enabling employees to do their jobs efficiently.  The policy should protect, but not inhibit, the use of data from a mobile device; this usually requires the protection of the device itself with a strong focus on what data is available and where it will reside.

 

Some policy suggestions:

  • Device:

o   Deploy an anti-malware utility set to scan automatically

o   Set continuous updates of operating system and anti-malware utility

o   Encrypt company data (if stored on the device itself)

o   Backup data to a secure site (preferably daily)

  • User:

o   Require passwords and make them complex

o   Set an auto-lock period of five minutes or less

o   Set browsers to high-security mode

  • Remote access:

o   Access data/applications securely via SSL, HTTPS, or VPN technologies

o   Provide virtualized access to data stored at the corporate site

In our next article, we will review training and enforcement, highlight some tools, and wrap-up with first-step suggestions.

 

 

References:

 

1. Visit Network World athttp://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/061912-byod-20somethings-260305.htmlto review the article “Young employees say BYOD a Right not Privilege” by Ellen Messmer.

 

2. Please review the May 12, 2012 InformationWorld article “Mobile Security Gaps Abound” by Michael Finneran.