Today’s Tablets 11 J Anti-malware: Tablets are not shipped with
on-board anti-virus, anti-spam, intrusion detection, or firewall apps. Although such apps are available, adoption has been slow. Instead, many users rely on corporate mail server or mobile operator SMS filters and a naïve hope that AppStore rules stop Trojans. The IT department has plenty of room for improvement here. J Device management: For visibility, policy configuration, app provisioning, and compliance reporting, employers can centrally manage tablets used for business, no matter who owns them. A minimum practice is Exchange ActiveSync policies—for example, to deny corporate mail access by unencrypted devices. For more extensive and transparent control, use mobile device management (MDM) software from a vendor such as Afaria, AirWatch, BoxTone, MobileIron, Tangoe, or Zenprise. For example, all of these MDMs can enroll and secure iPads, without relying on iTunes or Exchange.
The Same, But Different While these common practices are a good start, tablets
do present a few new twists that may require policy customization or practice adaptation. These differences can be subtle. Let’s consider a few examples. J Unlike smartphones, which support cellular voice
and SMS texting, many new tablets are available in Wi-Fi- only models. If your smartphone enrollment, remote lock/wipe, or AV update practices depend on SMS, they may not work on tablets running the same mobile OS. Look for measures that can be adapted to work on Wi-Fi- only devices, and realize those Wi-Fi tablets will not be continuously connected to the same degree. J Smartphones have relatively little visual real estate,
but tablets are appealing platforms for remote display and desktop app virtualization. In fact, new Chrome OS tablets won’t even run locally installed apps. If you use VPN clients to secure business communication on smartphones, this may not end up being your preferred approach on tablets. J On the other hand, tablets are rich media devices,
driving users to store presentations, PDF files, podcasts, and videos. Policies that block file attachments or file transfer apps on smartphones may not fly on tablets. Similarly, you are more likely to need to safeguard data beyond email, contacts, and calendars on tablets. J In order to fully exploit tablet capabilities, mobile
operating systems are being refined. For example, early tablets using Android 2.2 cannot run many Marketplace apps well. However, this year’s tablets are expected to run Android 3.0 (a.k.a. Honeycomb), which will support
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for tablet-optimized apps. OS version and device type may therefore have a direct impact on a tablet’s app support (including security apps). J Finally, tablets are not always independent devices.
For example, RIM’s PlayBook will pair with BlackBerry smartphones for 3G and email. In fact, a PlayBook cannot reach a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) on its own. The upcoming BES 5.0.3 will reportedly manage PlayBooks tethered to BlackBerry smartphones in this manner, but those tablets may end up being managed like a hardware extension of the associated BlackBerry. J These are just a few of the ways in which tablet differences may impact security policies and practices. The bottom line: Reuse what you can from the smartphone world, focusing on techniques that worked well for employee-liable devices. But don’t fall into the trap of assuming all tablets can be secured just like their smartphone siblings. Take a hard look at how each tablet will be used, and adapt your tablet security best practices to fit.
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