Steps to Effective Mobile Device Security in 2019
October 22nd, 2019 by Ashlee Colliver
If you’re in charge of corporate IT, you know computers can be tricky to keep secure. When you add in the factor of portability – like when a mobile device is checked out of the office – your challenge grows exponentially.
ESSENTIAL LAYERS OF MOBILE DEVICE PROTECTION
To ensure your corporate mobile devices maintain maximum security no matter where they are, these are the four essential layers of protection you must have in place:
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Cyber Protection
Anti-virus software is the initial minimal level of protection a mobile device needs to fight against cyber threats. These days, a new computer usually includes default security software as part of the operating system – but do you really want to trust the original manufacturers of your hardware and operating systems to continually provide top-level security for your aging computer when those manufacturers make their profits by perpetually selling new hardware and operating systems? To help delay their planned obsolescence, seriously consider installing an anti-virus product that is solely focused on providing anti-virus protection.
Ransomware protection and network security against the ever-increasing onslaught of online threats are the next elements of cyber protection you need. The stories from around the world about the impact of phishing and ransomware are already considered old news. In today’s online business environment, it’s now standard operating procedure to have a comprehensive cyber security system in place, to ensure all of your organization’s stakeholders have a best-practices layer of cyber protection in place for their hardware (and backups of their files). Does your network meet the new default IT cyber security standards?
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Access Protection
One of the best ways to support your cyber protection efforts is to implement protocols that limit access to your corporate assets to only those who need it, based on a stakeholder’s role within your organizational structure. Each person’s assigned computer can be limited to access only specific resources, files, and data. The three areas of access protection to implement are: A) Centralized Password Protection: Strict complexity requirements and password change requirements.
B) Multi-Factor Authentication: Provides a layer of login protection that requires the physical participation of a device’s assigned user during the login process C) Centralized Device Encryption: Gives you unified control of remote mobile devices for data security, regulatory compliance, and security/encryption software update deployments.
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Theft Protection
People lose stuff all of the time. And bad people steal stuff all of the time, especially mobile devices when the opportunity arises. Do you really want to leave the physical security of your mobile devices totally up to the assigned users of your company’s mobile devices? No, you don’t. Centralized endpoint management with device location capability gives you the ability to manage, monitor, and secure your organization’s mobile devices – even if they use a variety of operating systems.
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Device Health
Just like people, computers perform better and provide increased productivity when they are in optimal health. Centralized system reporting and patch management provide you with the ability to regularly schedule computer health checkups and maintenance procedures, as well as to deploy urgent security software updates as soon as they’re released.
SECURITY IS JUST ONE STEP TOWARD SUCCESS
Of course, mobile device security is only one part of the big picture of corporate success, which begs the question: How effectively are all of the devices in your organization communicating with each other to accomplish your overall business goals?
The essential layers of mobile protection mentioned above are at the hub of a managed IT solutions designed with your business goals in mind. If you want to reach those big-picture goals, you need to ensure that your business is not only adequately protected from cyber threats, but that it is properly prepared for growth in an increasingly mobile marketplace.
Contact us today. We are ready to help.
Posted in: Insights from VAF Blog, Data Security & Compliance Solutions, Information, Managed IT Solutions
