Recent Mobile Security Improvements

Apple recently released its iOS 6 mobile device operating system, bringing some small features and performance tweaks to the platform for the iPhone 5 and some existing devices. With the new phone and operating system, more businesses are looking to adopt Apple smartphones or incorporate those personal devices into their own network environment. Historically Apple & Android smartphones have very weak native security controls. A new type of solution to manage these devices outside the trusted network has arisen in what’s called Mobile Device Management, or MDM. A few major contenders in this space are AirWatch and GoodLink. Both AirWatch and GoodLink incorporate a rather intrusive solution that allows administrators to remotely wipe your device should it be lost or unaccounted for. While this supports good security, it also places your personal device at risk for data loss. The individual is usually the one to make that decision.

Should the corporation wish to provide their own Apple products for employees to use, iOS 6 has incorporated some new security features to restrict access and configuration. Guided Access, primarily an iPad feature, has been added to iPhone and iPods as well. This allows administrators to define boundaries for a user inside the iOS environment. This is particular useful in setting up iPad’s as kiosks or workstations where users are defined to a single app or area.

Apple has also introduced Supervised Mode with remote manageability in iOS6. With the free Apple’s Configurator app, administrators can generate profiles that restrict access to almost every element inside iOS6, improving the deployment capabilities of Apple hardware amongst the workforce.

 

Gallgher, S. (2012, September 21). Locking up, locking down: Hands-on with iOS 6 enterprise management. Retrieved from ArsTechnica: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/09/locking-up-locking-down-hands-on-with-ios-6-enterprise-management/

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