Security for Employees’ Tablets, Smartphones
The Right Network Provides Security of Employees' Tablets, Smartphones
How many iOS, Android, and other mobile devices are using your company network? Hint: The numbers are higher than you think.
A client thought that they only had two or three iPad users on their business network. When we polled the network, it showed there were 50 iPads active.
Welcome to the new work culture of bring-your-own-device (BYOD). Many people will use their personal smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device on their employer's network. No matter what the IT policy is.
As a leader of your business, it's time to protect your company with BYOD security strategies. Here are seven ways to do it.
1. People First: Raise Awareness about IT Security Issues
Create a current acceptable use policy, communicate it to employees, and enforce it. An employee's ignorance, carelessness, or insubordination about security can pose a greater risk than a hacker does.
2. Control Access to Your Network
"The simplest strategy is 'put in a firewall, set it, and forget it.' But that won't do the job," says Johannes Banck CIO of Computer Systems Support & Design, a Cisco Premier Certified Partner whose technical services specialties include wireless networking.
The firewall must include an intrusion prevention system (IPS) that inspects what's entering, and be continually updated because security risks are ever changing.
3. Apply Web Application Security
Web security technology now lets you go beyond the URL level to tailor the web content that you want to block. For example, you can allow your users to view specific Facebook pages, but not post or play games on them. Cisco web security solutions include an appliance and a cloud service.
For example, a school can let a student access YouTube when using a school-issued device, but not when using "Bring Your Own Device" BYOD. You can also limit the bandwidth that a person can use on your network.
New Cisco technology offers specific access controls for Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, iTunes, and 1000 other applications.
4. Secure the Wi-Fi Connections at Your Site
When "Bring Your Own Device" BYOD users at your site try to connect to your network, you are clearly in control. Apply VLANs to segment your mobile device traffic, including a VLAN for guests. In addition to supporting multiple VLANs, some new access points have an antenna design that doubles the range of high-speed 450 Mbps rates.
Consider a network access controller that streamlines the authentication of users and devices--whether their access is wireless LAN, cellular, wired, or virtual private network (VPN). Lacking this centralization, you'll have separate controls that cause higher IT overhead for system monitoring and management.
5. For Access from Anywhere, Use VPNs
When users are offsite--at home, in a coffeehouse, or traveling--a VPN can secure their connection to your network. To make it easy, you can provide users with a standard VPN interface for all their mobile devices, including iOS, Blackberry, and Android.
6. Activate Security Features in the "Bring Your Own Devices" (BYOD)
With or without MDM, you can require that mobile devices connecting to your network have activated their internal security features, including screen protection, software updates, and remote-wipe capabilities to erase data when the device is lost or stolen. In your acceptable use policy, address issues related to the ownership of data on devices.
When you're ready to say "yes" to the inevitability of BYOD--and the necessity of protecting your business--you can call on Computer Systems Support, a Cisco Certified Partner for security expertise, streamlined security solutions, and award-winning support.
Next Steps: Call Computer Systems Support & Design, your local Cisco Certified Partner at (203) 349-8047 Ext. 211 that can help your business with Unified Threat Management, Security, Wi-Fi and "Bring Your Own Device" BYOD.
Or go to this link and complete our Cisco IT Support form
Security by Obscurity is No Security
Data Security Does Not Matter in Small Business IT - Or Does it?
Data reveals Small Businesses are Extra Vulnerable
Smaller Connecticut companies seem to believe, on average, that they aren't as susceptible to insider attacks and security breaches as large fortune 500 conglomerates. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Any company, regardless of size, that has confidential or sensitive data tucked away in information technology systems is at risk.
As one of Fairfield County's leading Tech Support firms we often experience situations where small businesses loose important data from unauthorized activities. Our security network assessment gives you an in-depth review of your network and how to better secure it from damaging malicious activities.
A recent Dark Reading article by Ericka Chickowski titled "Top 10 Security Mistakes SMBs Make." highlights this quite well. The article starts out with my favorite line "A lot of the cascading technical and process deficiencies at SMBs stem from the fundamental belief that security doesn't matter because their firm is too small to worry about it." and goes on to remind us that "First of all, on the compliance front SMBs are not likely to get a pass from regulators because their organization only has 10 employees."
So, at least when it comes to security threats and potential compliance audit failures, size doesn't matter and you should ask us to help you evaluate your IT vulnerabilities as quickly as possible arrive at a customized Unified Threat Management (UTM) plan.
The following diagram shows some of the attack vectors and lays out a rough sketch of possible protection measures.. Please call today (203) 349-8047 Ext. 211. Don't delay, your data security is at stake.
Learn more about Preventing Data Leakage and Identity Theft on your Computer Network.
