Don't let workers use own phones, warns RIM

 

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By Darien Graham-Smith

Posted on 28 Apr 2009 at 15:12

RIM, manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones, has warned employers not to let staff use personal mobile devices for work purposes.

"In six months during 2005 there were 63,000 mobile phones left in cabs in London [according to Credant Technologies resarch]," said Michael Brown, RIM's security manager, speaking at the Infosec conference. "These types of devices end up everywhere and anywhere."

"As an IT manager, how can I be comfortable with that? Do I know the information on the device can be remotely locked, or remotely wiped? Is it being kept away from prying hands?"

Naturally, RIM's solution is to invest in its management infrastructure. "The BlackBerry enterprise server enables you to remotely apply up to 450 different policies to users or groups of users," Brown noted.

But Brown acknowledged that the root cause of the problem was still a poor grasp of mobile security by users.

"Users aren't security experts, nor can we rely on them being so," he said. "People don't always remember that with all the information on a mobile device, it's as important as your wallet."

"As a user of course you want to have access to your work. But the IT department needs to ensure that they have control - that's really important. Otherwise, how are they going to be comfortable with you using that information?"