iCloud and MDM - a good thing.

ElcomSoft discovers yet another way to access information stored in Apple iOS devices by retrieving online backups from Apple iCloud storage. The company updates Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker, a tool to retrieve user content from password-protected backups created by Apple iOS devices and BlackBerry smartphones, with the ability to retrieve iPhones’ user data from iCloud. No lengthy attacks and no physical access to an iPhone device are required: the data is downloaded directly onto investigators’ computers (PC) from Apple remote storage facilities in plain, unencrypted form. Backups to multiple devices registered with the same Apple ID can be effortlessly retrieved. Investigators need to know user’s original Apple ID and password in order to gain access to online backups.

You can read the entire news release at http://www.elcomsoft.com/PR/iCloud_120515_en.pdf

So now how to stop this?  Fortunatley the MDM world has an answer.  As part of the core suite of Mobile Deivce Managment tools that MSC offers, a default policy can be set to disable iCloud backup all together.  This is a parental control and can not be user overridden.  

Can you afford for your company data to be backed up to iCloud?  If not talk to us today to discuss your options.

Gartner Says Mobile Device Management Is Essential for IT Success

According to Garner, Inc. Mobile Device Management (MDM) has become a critical discipline for IT Departments, given the increasing number of smartphones and tablets within the organisation and BYOD devices.

MDM requires tight coordination between security and operations. The measures organizations take to implement mobile device security are mostly about ensuring that device configurations match corporate policy — for example, they check whether devices are protected by a compliant password and that the information they contain can be wiped, should circumstances call for this.

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ionGrid at the Innovation Sandbox - RSA Conference 2012

A compelling video showing ionGrid CEO Nick Triantos presenting the Nexus solution, at the RSA Conference 2012's Innovation Sandbox. Nexus allows mobile employees to have pixel-perfect, secure access to corporate content like sales materials and intranet web sites, without having to move any data to the cloud. It's like a Blackberry Enterprise Server for your files and intranet web content.

Contact MSC to organise a demo or onsite trial of Nexus today.  

To learn more visit our Nexus Connect page.

iPad Secure Browsing Arrives

ionGrid the makers of Nexus Connect are please to announce the arrival of version 2.2.  This update introduces for the first time a secure browser.  Now with Nexus you can have your documents from your file store or SharePoint along with secure intranet browsing without the need to hookup a VPN.  Pixel perfect documents and full secure intranet browsing what a combo.

V2.2 Release notes:

Like many of your favorite developers, we've updated our app to take advantage of the new iPad. Our graphic designer is enthralled by the possibilities, so expect even more polishing over time. 

The second headline feature in this version is the new, secure web browser. This allows you to access internal web sites, securely and without a VPN, outside the office. This feature requires a compatible version of Nexus Server. 

Finally, the team has been hard at work on the underlying network functionality. It's under the covers, but you'll notice that everything is generally faster and more resilient when you have a weak signal. Oh, and for those of you using Nexus at work, it now supports automatic proxy detection. 

If all that didn't convince you to upgrade, know that we've fixed some other small bugs, and we recommend that everyone move to this version.

Contact MSC to organise a demo or onsite trial of Nexus today.  

To learn more visit our Nexus Connect page.

Is BYOD as good as it’s supposed to B?

Over 50% of 4500 international organisations surveyed recently reported that employees circumvented security measures deployed to mobile devices whether corporate liable of BYOD. Although businesses view Smart Phones such as Apple, Android and BlackBerry as beneficial to employee engagement, improved productivity and collaboration, less than 40% have the necessary security mechanisms in place to protect corporate information assets.

The added complexity of BYOD compounds the challenge of security and compliance for mobile devices. ‘User satisfaction’ is cited by many IT departments as the reason for allowing employees to bring their own technology however there are significant risks associated with letting people bring their own technology.

IDC reported in the last six months that a little over 50% of Australian businesses have a BYOD option available to staff or are piloting BYOD. Interestingly the majority of employees – over 70% -prefer their employer provide mobile devices  and less than 20% would prefer to use their own device at work.

BYOD presents significant challenges to organisation’s that want to allow their employees to use their own device.

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A different iPad ROI

Most of our posts here at MSC Mobility are on the serious side but this one was too good not to post.  This is by far the most productive use of an iPad we have seen to date.

You don't have to speak German to understand this. The woman asks her father if he's figured out how to use the iPad she gave him, which he affirms without question.  Enjoy.

Half of Australian organisations lose data through mobile devices

A global study on mobility risks, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by content security provider Websense, has revealed that corporate mobile devices and employee-owned devices (BYOD), are circumventing enterprise security and mobile device usage policies in Australia.The global survey included a total of 4640 IT security and general IT practitioners in the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, India, Mexico and Singapore.

Of the 300 Australian IT practitioners surveyed, 61% agreed that the use of mobile devices in the workplace is important to achieving business objectives, but 85% also believe that these devices put their organisations at risk - only 36% have the necessary security co

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What does 2012 have in store for Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and iOS?

We read a lot about mobile here at MSC.  When we found this we thought we should share it.  This really is a great summation of the mobile market for 2012.  Will it play out this way or will we take another 90 degree turn?

Research In Motion's decision last month to replace long-time co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis with COO Thorsten Heins crystallized the challenges that remain for the BlackBerry maker. The company must push back against declining market share in the U.S. market, deliver its BlackBerry 10 platform on time and with perfect execution and convince consumers, carriers and developers alike that RIM is a company worth betting on. One of RIM's staunchest U.S. allies, AT&T Mobility thinks RIM has a place at the smartphone table--but CMO David Christopher recently noted that RIM needs to "innovate quickly and execute." 

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OnPoint Digital CellCast Wins at Global Mobile Awards 2012

OnPoint Digital Wins Best Mobile Innovation for Education or Learning at Global Mobile Awards 2012 in Barcelona.

Built for enterprise-level mobile learning, OnPoint’s award-winning CellCast Solution enables organisations to create, deliver and track content deployed to smartphones and tablets.

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Good Technology and Nokia to Deliver Secure Enterprise Messaging on Lumia Smartphones

As Windows Phone 7 continues to mature and Microsoft push into the consumer space it is great to see the first enterprise apps for securing the device become available.  The Nokia and Microsoft partnership will start to hit Australia in March, and by leveraging the Good for Enterprise solution, enterprises will be able to support employee use of Lumia smartphones with the confidence in knowing that corporate data will be secure—making it a win-win scenario for both IT leaders and information workers.

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