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Mobile security (2003)
Security begins before you even look inside your operating system with simple things like locks and portable memory. By Jayne Parkhouse
If you are of the opinion that mobile security products are just another money making spin-off contrived by greedy developers, think again. In this year's CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey, theft of proprietary data is reported to be in excess of $70 million. Add to that $7 million worth of laptop theft and you are still only looking at the tip of the iceberg. These figures, although encouraging, only represent 251 organizations in the U.S. that took part in the survey and the overall figure globally would paint a very different picture, making mobile security just as important to conquer as ever.
Laptops carry information that can be used to access systems, steal critical system information and provide a window into your business activities. These could provide financial benefits to rivals or disseminate highly confidential data and, in certain cases, may even be enough to undermine national security.
With laptop theft hitting major crime fighters and governmental departments, you'd think we'd have wised up by now. At the same time, figures do show a substantial drop in annual losses since the 2002 survey, from around $450 million to $200 million. There is still a long way to go, however, with no room for complacency. The Computer Security Institute (CSI) reported that more than half of all corporate network breaches originated from stolen laptops, representing on average a financial loss of $89,000. That figure is per laptop and represents a serious problem that desperately needs to be addressed.
So what does laptop theft mean to your company? Even if corporate laptops are insured, sometimes the very thing that has the greatest value isn't protected - the data. But insurance doesn't have to represent a large check paid annually; it can represent the company's own proactive defense, such as a security lock, an alarm, access control or a solid encryption program, the importance of which, cannot be stressed enough.
Company information carried out of the sanctuary of the office is always at risk. Blueprints, finances, or a business strategy are all potentially damaging assets to lose, but firms around the world face the loss of data every day because the simplest of rules have been ignored.
The days of little or no protection should already be over, but time has not always made us wiser and, even with the array of quality security solutions on offer, firms spend billions on network defenses and overlook the less prominent areas of their security. This is dangerous, with so much emphasis on privacy and the protection of data, and an expensive lesson if things go wrong. As already mentioned, encryption should be a vital part of your security policy and mobile encryption is covered in SC Magazine's other Group Test on page 58 in this issue.
In this Group Test, we consider other mobile security products, taking three distinct areas, to enable readers to weigh up the pros and cons of each solution. The first step toward protecting a laptop while out on business is to provide physical security. This deters opportunists in their attempts to find easy pickings. So, in our first category, we look at hardware solutions.
Cables have to be easy to carry, after all, if it's too heavy it'll be left in the office. They also have to be easy to use, practical and strong. In testing these products we used everyday cutting devices and not specialist equipment, which we feel opportunists would be unlikely to carry. A determined thief will have other methods of assault and no cable, although a deterrent, would necessarily be enough. As the first line of defense they are a visual and physical preventive.
Next we look at the alternative to carrying a laptop - if a thief can't see a suitable target, then there isn't going to be a theft. This encompasses both removable hard drives and flash memory. Practical for ease of use, most are plug-and-play, and certainly small enough to conceal while on the move, these represent an alternative to traditional laptop use and only depend on the user having access to a computer at each port of call. There are a myriad of these on the market but many do not provide security for the user and their data. Beware, just like the floppy disk, removable media can be used to steal data as well as carry it legitimately and, although gateway protection might be in force, removable media can introduce trojans, viruses and worms, so their use should be strictly monitored and restricted.
Last but not least, is tracking software. If you have done your best to safeguard your laptop and it is still stolen, with this software in place retrieval may still be possible. These products rely on an internet connection, an excellent support mechanism and law enforcement collaboration. But if you've secured your data, this may also offer a way to get the hardware back too.
Nothing can ever be considered 100 percent secure. But with a little commonsense, good security awareness and the help of some credible security solutions we may well be on the way to reducing laptop thefts, which has to be good for everyone except the thief.
