Biggest Threats?
Mobile Devices Threats
The biggest threat to your network is the smallest device in your user s hand. Mobile devices pose a serious management challenge
I have recently had cause to consider the challenge of managing mobile devices - the various wireless, handheld, portable, and other devices that are sometimes, but not always, connected to the network.
The penetration of BlackBerries, PDAs, smartphones, portables, laptops and other mobile devices is constantly increasing. Everywhere you go people are tapping away at their BlackBerries, thumbing out messages on their cell phones, or scrolling through content on their Palm devices.
Some of these people are surfing the Web, but many are working - getting e-mail, updating sales reports, logging in to corporate portals, downloading brochures, or messaging with colleagues. The BlackBerry supports most corporate mail servers, and runs custom applications. Most new cell phones connect to the Web, get e-mail and run Java applications. Many devices run Windows Mobile (such as the new Treo 700W), and are fully compatible with commercial applications, such as Microsoft Office. Some, like Sony’s “micro PC” , run a full version of Windows XP Pro.
As these devices become more powerful, they are supplementing, if not replacing, desktops and laptops. And they are increasingly joining the corporate network. Right now, for example, I am tapping out this article on an old Sony Clie. It has an e-mail client, a Web browser, application support, office document compatibility, and Wi-Fi networking. On any given day, I connect to the Web at home, in a coffee shop, or at an airport; and I connect to the Wi-Fi network at the office almost every day.
Connecting mobile devices to the corporate network opens up many problems - randomly and unpredictably - that we have already solved in the desktop world. Without control and audit, they may open compliance risks, especially if users are creating and editing financial data on them. Without virus scanners, they may be infected by malware that can attack the rest of the network. Without firewalls they may be hacked (especially where weak security is applied to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities), and used as an entry point to evade perimeter security. Hardware and software assets need to be tracked to ensure compatibility and license compliance. Upgrades and patches need to be planned and managed to ensure application and network compatibility.
As more and more people shift portions of their work to these mobile devices, IT must start managing them more systematically. Many systems management vendors claim to support mobile devices, but most are really talking only about laptops (and Windows laptops at that). Management solutions with full support for Palm OS, Symbian, Windows Mobile, embedded Linux, and Blackberry are much harder to find. Very few vendors are paying any real attention to mobile devices, apparently because they do not believe the market has critical mass. However, just one rogue device is enough to penetrate or bring down a network, an application, or an entire business.
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Enterprises must pay more attention to managing these mobile devices. Unfortunately, until systems management vendors catch up to their growing market penetration, mobile devices will continue to pose a serious IT management challenge.