Guidelines for Mobile Security

The National Institute of Standards has released a new draft of recommended guidelines on cell phone & PDA security, helping companies to navigate this overlooked area of data security. Mobile devices pose an increasingly large risk to data security. Lost or stolen laptops are currently one of the main causes of data breaches, so the increased data access capabilities of even smaller mobile devices increases the risk of data breaches as the result of lost or stolen devices.

Publication SP 800-124 provides an overview of mobile devices in use today and insights on making IT security issues regarding their use. Threats increase for handheld devices due to their size & portability and the available wireless services. These two issues increase the risk for loss / theft, unauthorized use, malware, spam, electronic eavesdropping, electronic tracking, cloning and server-resident data.

The guidelines give many examples of these types of threats as well as safeguards that can be put in place. The safeguards suggested include:

• Central management of devices – have organization-issued devices with a system to centrally configure and manage devices & their updates
• User-oriented measures – teaching employees about procedures to follow using organization devices (understanding the security features & how to use them)
• Authentication – require user authentication with PINs and passwords
• Backup data
• Reduce data exposure – avoid sensitive information being on, or accessed by, any handheld device. Encrypt any sensitive data.
• Turn off wireless interfaces – minimize risk by only turning them on when needed
• Add security software such as firewalls, antivirus, VPN, etc.

There are very detailed suggestions about how to centrally organize devices and their capabilities. Download the study here [PDF]: “Guidelines on Cell Phone and PDA Security (Draft).” In addition, you may wish to review the “Performance Measurement Guide for Information Security” Study [PDF].

Absolute Software also provides security solutions for handheld devices with Computrace Mobile. Check it out here!

Hat tip to Dan Lohrmann Tags: mobile security, data security, mobile security policy, it security, cell phone security, pda security, handheld devices