The Hack Attack on Early BYOD Adopters…MDM to the Rescue

The BYOD trend lends the enterprise an opportunity to make their employees more productive. It allows employees mobility and constant access while still being able to get the user experience they want. However BYOD does not just provide opportunity to the enterprise and their employees, but to those the enterprise has been trying it hardest not to provide opportunity to. The Hacker.

With the adoption of BYOD in the enterprise, the growing number of end devices in the enterprise and the wide variety of operating systems those devices run on itWorld Canada reports that this is a “golden opportunity” for hackers. They speak with Takeaki Chijiiwa, principal consultant at Security Compass Inc., a Toronto-based security firm who said that while some enterprises have address their security issues some have not paid attention to the risks. Those who have not “should realize how the bad guys” are paying attention.

Chijiiwa states that “I think the black hat community recognizes this and wants to take advantage of the early adoption,” in that without a proper Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution in place these devices, “are easily targeted as entry points for a malicious user.” So it seams that the solution is simple. Just get an MDM solution right? Its probably not as clear cut as it seams considering the different type of end devices flooding the enterprise, each needing their own security settings and protocals and not every MDM solution being able to work on each operating system or meet a specific enterprise’s needs. What is clear here is that MDM or MAM are absolutely necessary when implementing a BYOD program, and giving it some serious thought is the first step. Look before you leap folks because the “bad guys” could be waiting at the bottom of what could be a very slippery slope. Read the entire itWorld Canada article here.