With the increasing use of mobile devices at work, a number of security professionals are concerned with the impact of mobile devices on information security.
According to a survey of IT professionals done by Check Point a few years ago, “Mobile devices cause ongoing concern for IT teams responsible for information security. Sensitive corporate information can be easily transported and lost, while the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement has dramatically increased the number of expensive security incidents.”
The survey covered 790 IT professionals conducted in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan and found that BYOD is growing dramatically and affecting enterprises of all sizes.
“Corporate information on a mobile device is a more important asset than the device itself and mobile security incidents are costly, even for SMBs,” said the report, indicating that over 93% firms have mobile devices connecting to their corporate networks and 67% of them allow personal devices to connect to corporate networks, thereby making corporate information security the greatest BYOD challenge.
According to Ryan McGee, Check Point’s Mobility Sales Leader Middle East and Africa speaking in Nairobi, “Mobile devices are essentially the new ‘backdoor’ for cyber-criminals. Sandblast mobile is the leading threat defense solution to prevent advanced mobile cyber-attacks. It turns out as the best mobile threat defense solution, since it counters viruses that would come through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, OS exploits, SMS attacks and device settings.”
Mobile devices are a threat to any workplace because they can act as backdoor to network breaches, they can expose sensitive corporate data to risk and lead to losses of millions of shillings if not detected and prevented.
Check Point’s SandBlast Mobile, a mobile threat defense solution to protect devices in any business from advanced mobile attacks, promises protection to employees’ devices from infected apps, man-in-the-middle attacks over Wi-Fi, OS exploits, and malicious links in SMS messages better than traditional mobile security software in the market.
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With a cloud-based dashboard, SandBlast Mobile promises real-time threat intelligence and visibility into the type of threats that could impact businesses such as malware-infected apps, man-in-the-middle attacks over Wi-Fi networks, Zero-day malware
OS exploits, Malicious links sent via SMS among others.
Though some firms are yet to come to terms with enterprise mobile attacks, data collected from more than 850 organizations spread across four continents show that enterprise mobility is found to be susceptible to attack on both major mobile platforms, Android and iOS.
Threats to mobile users are capable of compromising any device and accessing sensitive data at any time. These threats impact every type of business from financial services to government to manufacturing.
McGee says SandBlast Mobile protects against mobile device, apps, and in-network threats to keep enterprises and consumers ahead of the game. The software is using Artificial intelligence detection to immediately block zero-day malware
Blocking targeted SMiShing attacks on iOS and Android devices and its new app allows end users to monitor and control device security.
Check Point has seen the attack vectors on mobile devices expand from just known malware, network and OS exploits, to now include zero-day malware, SMS attacks and Bluetooth exploits. Check Point’s SandBlast Mobile fits in between mobile device managers and security event log analyzers, and actually makes it easier to manage the overall security footprint of your entire mobile device fleet.
Though mobile devices have traditionally been less protected than PCs, the amount of malware in app stores is increasing and the attacks cant be ignored. Anti-virus softwares available in the market have helped identify known threats but have increasingly failed to detect zero-day malware or vulnerabilities in networks, operating systems, and apps leading to more attacks.
Even with the present protection by security softwares, latest reports show that 100% of all businesses had experienced malware attacks with 54 percent of them experiencing mobile malware attacks while 89% of businesses experienced a man-in-the-middle attack over Wi-Fi 75% averaged 35 rooted or jailbroken devices on network.
SandBlast Mobile helps end users protect their mobile enterprise environments to protect cybercriminals from taking over their business data and further provide secure mobile access to business documents.
