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Keeping Mobile Cloud Data Secure

As the use of mobile devices continues to soar, enterprise cloud applications are now resident in the palm of your hand, like your ordinary e-mail and mobile Web browsing. And with mobility comes ever greater responsibility to keep enterprise data safe. “The power of these devices in consumers’ hands is now equal to that of […]

Written By

Brian T. Horowitz

Feb 4, 2010

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As the use of mobile devices continues to soar, enterprise cloud applications are now resident in the palm of your hand, like your ordinary e-mail and mobile Web browsing. And with mobility comes ever greater responsibility to keep enterprise data safe.

“The power of these devices in consumers’ hands is now equal to that of what people have in their hands to access their enterprise data, and the two things are all getting smashed together,” said Tom Barber, vice president of marketing for DecisionPoint Systems, provider and consultant for enterprise cloud and mobile applications.

Kendall Collins, chief marketing officer at Salesforce.com, acknowledges that security is an area of concern for mobile devices. “Security on mobile devices is an area where we’ve invested a lot of time to make this world class,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of custom applications being employed in mobile devices.”

Here’s what you need to know to keep your mobile cloud data safe.

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“Security is an end-to-end problem between the end user and where the data lives,” Barber said. Overseeing the entire chain in your cloud operation is essential, from the technical infrastructure to the SaaS application to the mobile device. “To be able to manage and oversee the whole technical infrastructure — that is the mobile devices themselves and how they connect to the wireless network — is key to being able to keep it secure,” Barber explained. The mobile device is the weakest link in this chain and needs to be secured, he said.

“If you tackle the security for the mobile infrastructure, but you don’t tackle the security for the SaaS application, you’re still vulnerable,” Barber added. “You have to tackle both pieces of it, so you’re assured it’s end to end.”

Read the rest at Enterprise IT Planet.