Personal Mobile Devices in the Enterprise

The portable device conundrum and a logical solution

Disclaimer: This article represents the observations, views, opinions and general ramblings of its author and is not the policy, opinions or views of the authors employer, management or fellow employees.

User's want the freedom to bring in personal portable devices for business and personal reasons, both of which can improve the employees overall quality of life, work and job performance.

Be of no double that this does pose a security risk, BUT when properly mitigated there can be a measurable benefit to the enterprise. Happier employees are without doubt more productive employees. They are also healthier employees which impacts the companies bottom line for health insurance coverage.

The initial thrust of personal device introduction to the enterprise came with personal cell phones. These phones are now smart phones and susceptible to attack and compromise in much the same ways as computers and laptops. 

Personal laptop computers and more recently tablets, like the IPad line from Apple, represent a more vulnerable threat vector than cell phones, but developers and IT personnel often utilize these tools for work and also for brief periods during the day to refresh their focus. Short breaks during the day can positively impact personnel performance.

A practical solution

The issue of personal devices at work can by addressed piecemeal, by a patchwork of policies and controls, or Boldly and I would argue successfully by a single, all encompassing management led solution.

I propose that the enterprise that wishes to solve this issue cold do so with the following simple steps which would have the added benefits of raising employee moral, reducing support costs and eliminating much of the portable device risk.

1. Give an apple IPhone and Apple IPad to every Employee. Employees who do on call support will have company subsidized devices, and other employees would have to use the phones at thier own cost. The benefits to support are that all users will become familiar with the same operating system and can gain advice and support from each other in addition to the usual channels.

2. Buy a mobile device management solution for apple devices only. 

3.  Regulate to prohibit through policies and enforcement, that use of any other devices within the confines of the enterprise in prohibited and provide a quarantine area when prohibited devices can be dropped off by users and picked up after their work day ends.

4. Add additional value by creating an apple development group and producing applications for your in house systems which customers need to access.

The main point is to standardize on a single platform and reduce support costs. It is an added bonus that Apples IOS is less exploited by hackers than windows.

S. Russell Dyer BS CISSP CRISC

Security wanderer and event handling Lackey.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and not those of his employer, company management or fellow employees.