Mobile Security and Compliance for the Mobile Workforce – challenges for IT
IT security teams are facing a daunting challenge when it comes to their current mobile security, systems and policies weren’t designed to anticipate, and as such aren’t equipped to solve: making sure that remote access to internal systems is secure and compliant. This is especially true in COVID-19 where companies are under immense pressure to enable their remote (and in some cases entire) workforce with secure mobile apps.
While the concept of working remotely is certainly not new — just ask any sales professional whose office has traditionally been whatever hotel, coffee shop, airport lounge or sometimes even car they happen to be in — the explosive penetration of laptops, tablets and smartphones alongside the availability of remarkably powerful mobile-ready business apps have made “work” far less about a place to go, and more about an activity to accomplish anytime, anywhere. And that’s great news for employees in a wide variety of fields, including legal, professional services, health care and more, who are getting much more done in far less time. In light of this mobile security gap, and in an effort to enforce mobile security and compliance for the mobile workforce, most IT security teams have reacted in one of two ways:
- Banning remote access to the intranet and other key business apps hosted on internal/external clouds
Obviously, this is not a solution; not even a temporary one. Today’s employees are demanding remote access. Banning it only frustrates them, or worse, compels them to circumvent security systems entirely – not because they’ve “gone rogue”, but because they need to do their jobs as well (if not better) than their peers in other organizations that haven’t put up the stop sign.
- Requiring the use of VPN
Theoretically, this appears to be a practical solution. However, the reality played out in organizations across the world each day tells a very different story. A VPN doesn’t protect the network from malware that may reside on an employee’s used/owned device (and since it’s the nature of malware to remain invisible, employees who use infected devices are oblivious to the damage they could inflict).
In addition – and yet just as importantly – a VPN addresses access, not governance. As such, IT security teams have no control over corporate files, client information and other sensitive data once it downloads to employees’ devices. This not only exposes the data to possible theft or loss, but can run afoul of regulatory compliance requirements and lead to sanctions, fines, lawsuits and other unacceptable risks.
So, if banning remote access or implementing a VPN can’t close the gap between the needs of employees and IT security teams, what can organizations do to stay productive and safe; instead of one or the other? For years — and much to the pleasure of cyber criminals, rogue employees and other threats inside and beyond the organization – there was no practical answer. But that was before Appdome.
Appdome Makes Achieving Mobile Security and Compliance for the Mobile Workforce Easy
Appdome goes beyond enhancing an organizations existing policy or approach to managing remote access to internal systems – it completely re-invents it by enabling secure, seamless access from any mobile device; whether it’s being used by an employee across the city, or on the other side of the world. Enterprises can achieve this on Appdome is multiple ways. They can build their mobile apps by integrating a UEM/EMM/MAM SDK like Microsoft Intune or VMWare Workspace ONE and distribute apps through their enterprise apps stores. Or they can go the Zero Management Security route and add their Enterprise Authentication solution of choice and optionally secure mobile access to the mobile apps their employees use and distribute their corporate apps through public app stores. Finally, enterprise can easily turn any internal web app or 3rd party cloud app into a mobile app with Appdome SecurePWA.
Appdome rapidly and affordably extends the organization “trust zone” so that includes all mobile devices – both organization-supplied and employee-BYOD — yet without limiting functionality. As such, remote employees get the full native app experience they need to be productive, while IT security teams secure the intranet and other key business apps hosted on internal/external clouds. Plus, they ensure compliance, since they remain in control of all organizational data.
The bottom-line is that the mobile workforce is not going to shrink, on the contrary, as organizations continuously search for ways to do more with less, we’re almost certainly headed for a scenario where “working remotely” will lose the tag “remotely”, and simply be perceived as a typical, everyday practice (and in fact we’re already seeing this happening). As such, organizations need to get ahead of the forces driving mobile security and compliance for the mobile workforce or risk falling behind. Appdome is designed from the ground-up to make mobile security easy for organizations, which in turned will be loved by users and endorsed by IT security teams.
Get our free mobile apps in the digital workplace guide for information.
