Author: Eric Everson, Enterprise Security
“Global Enterprise Security” is an old phrase, but as many C-level managers are uncovering, there is a new face to this dynamic business environment. With technology tools flooding the market that have enabled the emergence of true virtual teams and ultimately a mobile workforce, the landscape of Global Enterprise Security has already changed faster than most IT professionals are willing to admit.
From doing remote desktop support pool-side to answering emails from your handheld device from 30,000 feet, everyone from the frontlines of the business to the top brass are integrating mobility into their work environment. Unlike some of my peers, I am not calling for the death of the brick and mortar workplace, but as a leader in digital security, I refuse to ignore the new challenges that these technologies represent to your Global Enterprise Security strategy. Most C-level manager’s never even think that their coveted BlackBerry could have already been hacked or otherwise compromised, yet it is a reality that we all face on a daily basis.
For mobile hackers, those very emails that you are responding to at 30,000 feet could mean a big paycheck if put in the right hands. Yes, we’re talking about that very real, under the table, realm of corporate espionage. If you’re a C-level executive and you think that it can’t happen to you, I encourage you to take a long hard look in the mirror and welcome yourself to the realities of the emerging mobile workforce and the issues it represents to your own security strategy. As the first go-to guy for many CIO’s facing this very real wake-up call, I can assure you that this is not an area of digital security that you or your company should take lightly. The mobile workforce of tomorrow is emerging faster than you might expect and for many business leaders looking around their companies, elements such as employee cell phones and laptops are nothing new and are giving them a certain lump in the throat that is hard to dismiss.
Beyond corporate espionage, just think for a moment about what happens when one of your employees drops their cell phone in a crowded holiday shopping center. Frighteningly few corporate IT organizations even have the safeguards in place today to remotely lock that handset from prying eyes (a technology which is now broadly available and is highly affordable to any size company). Would you want your proprietary next quarter pricing data in the wrong hands? It is a reality that far too few technology managers are equipped to deal with (which is also why my cell phone stays so hot). Whether you have put policies in place or not that deal with employee texting, inevitably I guarantee with 100% certainty your company data will find its way into a text message in the very near future.
It can be as simple as two managers riding opposite trains home that want to polish up a few last minute details for tomorrow’s big meeting and it can be as severe as employees committing the act of sharing your customer data with a third-party for added holiday cash. We are moving into new times and unfortunately far too many executive level managers are as ready to deal with the problems as they would like to admit. For the CEO reading this, just stop your CIO in the hall and ask him/her to explain JavaMites and the threat they represent to your Global Enterprise Security strategy company and you’ll see your CIO squirm against something they’ve likely never even heard of.
Just as a heads up, JavaMites are the latest form of mobile malware to emerge and are capable of jumping from any Java-enabled mobile device (nearly 90% of wireless phones/smartphones are Java-enabled) and can also infiltrate any data on the handset to feed it back to mobile hackers. (Learn More about JavaMites Here)
For the IT executives that are carrying themselves around company headquarters with that false glow of confidence, I dare to challenge that behind the icing of your technology cake is a vulnerability within your security strategy that could shake your company to its core. You can sugar coat and show boat with all of the money you have spent on security, but the reality is that via a single mobile phone a talented hacker can bypass your digital fortress and can comprise everything you have developed on your way to achieving that cozy little office and nice car in the parking garage. So why is your CEO putting my cell phone number into his phone and not calling you directly? …Is your company ready?
Eric Everson is a leader in digital security and mobile technologies as the founder of MyMobiSafe, LLC. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for media interviews or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.
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