Mobile Devices and Security

Mobile devices offer a very unique situation for handling information security. As a relatively new technology, it is one of the leading edge technologies that is in its adolescence; not yet aged and mature with proper security metrics in place but not so young to be bleeding edge or unregulated.

As the article by Friedman and Hoffman explains, there are a number of threats facing mobile devices, but little oversight and even less funding being contributed to develop clear user policies and enforcement measures. Primarily, the authors focus on defining the risks facing mobile devices, such as iPads, Pocket PCs, and smart phones, but they also discuss how a mobile device may be simply a carrier of a virus or malicious code that seeks to infect a laptop or desktop computer using the sync function common on most smart devices.

To truly defend against the threats facing mobile devices and the systems they are often linked to, the Friedman and Hoffman suggest an in depth approach to information security. By layering user policies, security protocols, hardware security, and personal firewalls.

Combining these different security structures into one architecture allow user level security measures to prevent malware from making it into the central network but, when implemented properly, can make users aware of situations that can create unsafe conditions anywhere. Most users are not aware of the threats facing them in the use of smart devices, mainly because businesses underestimate the threats these devices present.