What's in Store? MDM, Firewall, Antivirus or Secure Mobile OS
Companies today rely on mobility to enhance agility and mobility. As such, bring your own device (BYOD), and mobility has become integral to transforming businesses into modern entities. For example, mobile devices can access data, communicate, or use various marketing tools to promote products and services. But, on the other hand, mobility results in increased endpoints and attack surfaces, causing a spike in cyber threats and attacks. In this case, companies require security solutions, including MDM, firewalls, antivirus, and secure mobile OS to enhance mobility security.
Mobile Device Management (MDM)
MDM is a centralized process used to manage mobile device security and usage. MDM platforms are essential since they allow IT teams to track each mobile device's activities and vital details, determine the apps a user can install and use, and remotely track and secure mobile devices if they are stolen or lost.
In addition, due to BYOD policies that permit employees to use personal mobile devices for work reasons, they may introduce some security challenges. Specifically, users may connect their devices to insecure public Wi-Fi networks and use them to access company resources remotely. Attackers can hack the networks and intercept or spy on sensitive communications and information. By deploying MDM solutions, a company can utilize specific applications that prevent employees from accessing corporate data and networks from insecure public networks. Some applications require users to connect through a private hotspot or a VPN.
That aside, some devices may contain security vulnerabilities that expose organizations to attacks. The causes may range from outdated software to accessing or downloading malicious software. Fortunately, MDM provides full visibility of every device and alerts if devices have unpatched or outdated apps. Moreover, visibility enables tracking of sites a user frequents to prevent exposure to malware programs and malicious sites.
Firewalls in Mobile Security
A firewall is a hardware or software tool used to filter network traffic to protect against malicious traffic. In the past, securing organizational devices in wired local networks by applying filtering rules to the specific devices was easy. However, in a modern business environment where employees demand reliable access to company digital assets from any location and device, networks have become complex and difficult to filter and monitor.
Therefore, a mobile-centric firewall is necessary to enable specialized security for all mobile clients connected to an organization's internal networks. Furthermore, a mobile firewall offers secure connectivity by extending security to authenticated mobile devices. In this regard, a mobile firewall monitors inbound network traffic before allowing mobile devices to communicate or transmit data to the network. Also, the firewall must approve the traffic before allowing it to pass and access the requested services.
On the same note, networks designed to connect many devices may require multiple mobile firewalls. The firewalls are necessary to ensure the processing of all authentication requests. Additionally, these firewalls are usually interconnected to achieve a robust firewall group that filters huge network traffic without impacting network security.
Antivirus in Mobile Security
Mobile devices make up the majority of endpoints used to access corporate networks and data. Hence, companies require mobile antivirus solutions to protect these endpoints and the network in extension from malware, viruses, trojans, and worms. Furthermore, mobile antivirus solutions are critical, given that most mobile devices don't contain built-in antivirus tools or apps. As a result, hackers can execute targeted attacks using less-known exploits and malware. Therefore, implementing mobile devices using mobile-centric antivirus protects against known and unseen attacks.
Besides, with network threats on the rise, antivirus products are pertinent in protecting mobile devices from attacks. For example, attackers can create a rogue access point for targeted mobile users and once they connect, install a spyware or data exfiltration malware on their devices. Therefore, mobile antivirus enables a company to detect network threats and deter cyber adversaries from compromising mobile devices.
It is also essential to note that some mobile devices lack sufficient protection measures and are, therefore, a preferred target for attackers. In addition, it is easier for attackers to compromise, maintain, and elevate their access privileges. That said, deploying mobile antivirus solutions enables the detection and prevention of any mobile device compromise attempts regardless of the methods used.
Secure Mobile OS
The operating system is often deemed as the first security layer in a mobile device. This is because other than handling fundamental device roles, such as scheduling processes and resource management, the OS is also responsible for establishing protocols for installing new applications and adding data without introducing security risks. However, different devices run different OS and apps. As such, an organization must ensure all devices run up-to-date operating systems to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure security patches are current. Also, companies need to subject mobile devices to frequent penetration testing attacks to ensure the OSs can withstand modern threats and attacks.
Can You Substitute Any of These Solutions?
An organization can not rely on just one of the solutions to achieve robust mobile security. Therefore, before settling on the most suitable mobile security solution, a company should first answer questions like:
- What are the company's mobile security needs?
- What are the company's security or IT management abilities?
- Does the company understand its existing mobile devices, shadow IT, or employee BYOD devices?
Take the antivirus solution, for instance. Every enterprise must achieve excellent malware detection and capabilities through advanced mobile antivirus/antimalware products. However, despite being integral to securing mobility, antivirus solutions are inadequate in the modern, dynamic environment. An antivirus solution alone cannot protect against attacks like identity theft, coordinated hacks, or even determine if a mobile device poses a security threat. Such capabilities are reserved for MDM solutions.
On the other hand, MDM is an effective solution for achieving system-wide visibility of all mobile devices and managing or mandating various security policies, including password length and device lock-screen. However, it would be a mistake for an organization to assume that MDM solutions provide the requisite enterprise-grade mobility security. The primary role of MDM is to manage mobile devices, monitor device and user access to company resources, and enforce required security policies. However, it cannot provide sufficient protection against other threats, such as virus attacks, network/device-based attacks, and phishing scams. As such, MDM must be used with other solutions, including firewalls and antivirus products, to secure organizational mobile devices adequately.
The same case applies to mobile firewalls – it is wrong to substitute other mobile protection mechanisms with a firewall. Mobile firewalls are solely responsible for filtering data and network traffic exchanged between authenticated devices and protected networks. Through network security rules, the firewall can allow traffic to pass through to the intended destination or deny it if it poses security threats to the network. Nevertheless, it cannot be substituted for other functionalities intended for antivirus products.
Lastly, securing the mobile device OS mitigates exploitable vulnerabilities. The recommended practices for securing mobile OS include constant updating and application of security patches and frequent penetration tests. However, no matter how secure an OS is, failing to apply other protection measures exposes the devices to multiple security threats, including virus attacks, malicious traffic and data packets, and the inability to manage or enforce device usage or data protection policies.
