Security Considerations in Mobile Device Manager
2/9/2009
Windows Mobile devices and software offer potential benefits to the enterprise. This includes potentially reduced operating costs and more productivity. However, companies that deploy mobile enterprise solutions have to make security a priority.
As Windows Mobile devices and mobile applications become more wide spread, the data that devices can access is becoming more business sensitive. It is important to protect and manage how mobile devices access company IT services.
One of the most difficult tasks for enterprise network administrators is finding methods and technologies that can prevent malicious attacks to their systems from sources located both inside and outside company firewalls. Protecting servers, client computers, and mobile devices become even more important as workers and contractors connect from multiple wired or wireless networks where security levels can vary greatly. Employees can accidentally put their business at risk by connecting remotely to very important systems and applications and transmit unintended threats over mobile networks. With the correct technology and network architecture, network administrators can greatly improve security for mobile device connections.
Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager (MDM) 2008 Service Pack 1 security architecture helps protect company data and communications while using the existing infrastructure investment of the enterprise. MDM provides several key security-related features to these devices:
- Encrypted access to e-mail and line-of-business (LOB) applications from the Internet
- Certificate based authentication for virtual private network (VPN)
- Device Inventory and Health inspection
- Application approval and blocking
- Remote device wipe to remove sensitive data from lost, stolen, or compromised devices
- Security policies to help protect devices