Jailbroken Devices: A Security Risk to Your Company?

Mobile devices are showing up in company settings at an exponential rate. The two big leaders in this market are the Apple iOS (iPhone & iPad) and the Google Android (Droid phones & Tablets) devices. It is becoming more and more common for consumers to “jailbreak” these devices. Jailbreaking is a way of bypassing the built in security features of a device to allow a person to run custom software. Doing this may allow an individual to run unapproved applications, or give the device new features not enabled by the manufacturer. A recent article by Gartner reveals the dangers jailbroken devices may pose for a company. Users with a jailbroken device may unintentionally open multiple security risks to your corporate network, allowing outside hackers access. To read more about how these devices can impact your business please read Gartner’s article.

How Do You Protect Your Business?

To help protect your business from these potential dangers there are two main courses of action:

1. A Mobile Device Policy needs to be executed and enforced. This policy can dictate what devices may be used in the company, what they may be used for, and how/what they can access on the corporate network. Implementing such a policy helps educate employees on how to properly use their devices — whether they are company issued, or personally owned.
2. A Mobile Device Management (MDM) system needs to be implemented to inventory, lock down, and monitor the devices. A system as such helps a company keep an exact inventory of their devices, and ensures the integrity of the software and data on them. In addition, MDM systems can be used to roll out new features or applications to all employee devices along with other measures such as tracking down lost or stolen devices.

Revolution Group is proud to have developed solutions for both of these items. Feel free to contact us to get more information on securing your company network for mobile devices.