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Business blog
Mumbai's 8/11 prompts West to co-ordinate security
Mumbai's 8/11 is emblematic of a lack of security co-ordination across city, national and private sector organisations. M Institute co-founder Jyoti Banerjee examines the lessons that the West can learn from Mumbai's 8/11.
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Wireless lockdown: mobile data security
Mobile devices and wireless networks are too often overlooked as points of entry for hackers. Information Age discusses the risks.
Mobile devices are known to present a threat to data security yet the Department of Trade and Industry's 2004 security survey found that more than half of UK businesses had done nothing about wireless security.
Viruses that have appeared on mobile devices have largely arrived via Bluetooth short-range wireless connectivity. One technique, known as 'Bluesnarfing', actually activates Bluetooth in devices, allowing the reading or modification of address books and calendars.
As mobile devices become more capable, the threats are expected to mount. All the main antivirus and security management vendors sell mobile versions of their products but, according to market watchers Burton Group, a complete set of security products for handhold devices can cost more than the device itself.
Part of the problem with securing mobile devices is that, by their very nature, they are often out of the office and thus difficult to keep up-to-date with antivirus signatures and changing security policies. The analyst group says basic mobile device due diligence includes: standardise hardware, tools and/or platforms; monitor and track devices using asset management; and draw up clear and strict guidelines for how much and what kind of business data can be stored on them. But until there are a lot of high-profile cases, many companies will ignore that due diligence.
The biggest threat to WiFi or wireless local area network (LAN) security is misconfiguration. Privacy is also at risk in public hotspots: since they are by default public, they cannot be secure from hackers. Another risk is plugging a laptop into a company network, with its wireless capability still enabled, as it could act as a conductor for hackers to enter the organisation.
For the full article on the Information Age website, click here
