As more and more professionals head off on their summer holidays, taking their laptops, PDAs, smartphones or MP3 players, how many actually consider the value of the data they store on these devices, and the impact if they were lost or stolen during relaxing vacation days?
Data protection is often seen as a purely business concern, but as the propensity increases for using mobile devices to store documents, passwords, contacts and personal information, professionals need to realize that the boundaries between their personal and work devices have become blurred. Mobile phones can become repositories for work contacts as well as personal pictures, and are often used to store ATM pin codes or visa card numbers. At the same time, they are easily lost or stolen.
Pointsec, the global leader and the provider of the de facto standard for enterprise security software for laptop and desktop PCs, PDAs and smartphones, works closely with companies to ensure that all removable media devices that enter its premises are protected, whether the device is for predominantly personal or business use.
“Encrypted data is safe data. Confidential information is hidden from industrial spies and hackers alike,” explains Ayman Mazjoub, general manager, Pointsec Middle East & Africa. “Airport lounges and terminals, airplane cabins, and hotel rooms are the most common places for mobile computing devices to be nicked or forgotten. Summer holidays are a time for people to relax, but this can make them a target for thieves looking to steal valuable hardware, and make off with whatever information they can take from the device.
“Identity theft is an increasingly prevalent crime, and causes ongoing hardship for the victim as they attempt to unravel the depth of the attack and ensure that they are not liable. When you factor in the amount of sensitive contact information that may be contained on the average business person’s PDA or smartphone, theft of a device carrying corporate information could have a multi-million dollar impact.”
Pointsec’s encryption software for mobile platforms ensures that not only the system memory of the mobile device is encrypted, but also removable storage media such as flash cards and microdrives. Working across the board with the most popular systems such as Windows, Windows Mobile and Symbian, the solution is implemented for all users centrally so it can be managed by the IT team and the parameters cannot be tampered with by end users.
A study from analyst firm Gartner Group claims that more than 80% of fresh and critical data now resides on endpoints such as a laptop or a USB drive, and not the company servers. The trend toward mobile computing is reinforced by much larger hard drives – 60 GB is now quite standard on business notebooks – and a variety of new data storage options including flash drives, USB memory sticks, DVDs, even MP3 entertainment devices greatly expand data storage options.
”Why take your worries on vacation with you?” asks Mazjoub. “We’re advising regional executives to relax this summer safe in the knowledge that their privacy is intact and no matter what may happen, their personal and business data is 100% protected.”
About Pointsec
Pointsec is the worldwide de facto standard for mobile device security – with the most customers deployed, highest level of certification and more complete device coverage than any other company. Pointsec delivers a trusted solution for automatic data encryption that guarantees proven protection at the most vulnerable point where sensitive enterprise data is stored – on mobile devices. By securing sensitive information stored on laptops, PDAs, smartphones, and removable media, enterprises and government organizations can protect and enhance their image, minimize risk, shield confidential data, guard informa¬tion assets, and strengthen public and shareholder confidence. Pointsec’s customers include blue chip companies and government organizations around the world. Founded in 1988, Pointsec Mobile Technologies AB is a wholly owned subsidi¬ary of Protect Data AB, publicly traded (PROT) on the Stockholm stock exchange. The company has two U.S. offices, nine EMEA offices, two APAC offices, two offices in India and one office in Dubai, Middle East. Pointsec can be found on the web at: www.pointsec.com.
