Legal and technical BYOD pitfalls highlighted at RSA Conference

Companies that don’t protect themselves through policies place themselves at risk.

Post based on my interview* with Mikael Ricknas of Computerworld.

Allowing employees to bring their own devices to work is causing new challenges, including what happens when a device needs to be wiped or employees want to sell their smartphone or tablet.

Mobile security and BYOD (bring your own device) are main themes at the European edition of RSA’s security conference, which takes place this week in London.

Letting employees use their own smartphones or tablets for work represents a loss of control for IT departments. Also, if personal data isn’t handled correctly, the company may end up being sued, said Cesare Garlati, vice president of mobile security at Trend Micro and the moderator of a conference session called “The Dark Side of BYOD“.

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Smartphone Security Winners & Losers

Post based on my interview with Jeanne Friedman, content manager for  RSA Conference.

In the mobile space the BYOD trend is becoming a minefield for IT administrators. Many companies have experienced a data breach as a result of an employee owned device accessing the corporate network. When the stakes are this high, corporate IT needs to know which platforms to allow and which to refuse.

Android is the most popular mobile platform in the world. It is also the most vulnerable to attack and in fact the most exploited. Contrary to common perception, Apple mobile devices are not immune to security flaws. And in fact less secure than Android if users “jail break” their devices – to escape Apple’s control.

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