When it comes to enterprise file security and mobile devices, the key word to consider is “loss.”
It’s easy to have inadvertent data loss in mobile devices through sharing (with people and/or apps). Consumer-grade solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive, for instance, leads to a lot of lost data via sharing files.
By their very nature, mobile devices are physically easier to lose than larger, less portable devices. Every year, 70 million smartphones are lost (and only 7 percent recovered), according to a Kensington infographic.
Something that’s easy to lose is also easy to steal. A determined thief could snatch a smartphone out of someone’s hands or grab a tablet off the table when your back is turned. Even if that device’s screen is locked, what’s stopping the thief from taking the memory card out of the device and seeing what’s stored on it?
While physical theft should be deterred at all cost, if you have the forethought to protect your data — not the device itself — you’re already taking the right steps toward more robust enterprise file security.
Insider Tips To Achieve Data Security And Enterprise Mobility
Mobile file access frequently occurs outside of the corporate network through channels like public Wi-Fi and open data networks, where security may not be strong.
It’s best to think of these channels like pipelines: At a glance, the channels protect what’s inside as it moves from point A to point B, but if someone breaks into the pipeline they’ll have access to what’s inside.
If you’re looking for a mantra that encapsulates enterprise file security, it needs to include these three points.
- Protecting data at rest: This means applying security tactics to data that’s stored on servers, computers and mobile devices. In addition to password-protecting these devices (and in some cases the files within them), protecting data at rest also includes data encryption and data containerization.
- Protecting data in motion: This means applying the same security tactics above to enterprise files and other information as it’s moving in and out of devices.
- Protecting data in use: This means controlling user access rights on a granular level across all enterprise files. Controlling use entails governing how data may be shared through third-party apps and how that data may be used. Since some users may need more restrictive access, it’s important to incorporate multidimensional access rights when considering how data is protected in use. Multidimensional access rights include governing not just who accesses enterprise files, but what is accessed, where the access takes place, when it happens and how the files are accessed.
To adopt a truly comprehensive and secure enterprise file sharing system, organizations should seek a platform with robust multidimensional access controls that protect data in use, at rest and in motion.
