Posts Tagged ‘Mobile Apps’

Customer Spotlight: International Law Firm Makes the Case for Accellion Mobile Apps

Thursday, June 7th, 2012

For law firms, being able to communicate with clients anywhere, anytime is a top priority – and a key ingredient to retaining existing accounts. No one understands that better than Allens Linklaters (Allens) – a firm that was on a mission to find a more secure and reliable way for its 800 attorneys to collaborate and exchange critical files with clients.

Allens’ standard methods of sending files via CD or FTP posed serious limitations – opening up the firm to security risks and providing limited visibility into whether files were received, opened, or reviewed. Plus, with so many of its employees and clients using Androids and iPads for daily work interactions, the firm wanted to allow users to access documents from any location – and any device.

The firm considered moving to a consumer-grade solution such as Dropbox, but wanted a more secure, reliable product that could truly support the mobility of its clientbase. After testing eight solutions, Allens found that Accellion Secure Collaboration was the only vendor that offered extensive functionality, mobile support, top-notch security, and could be hosted on-site.

“Where our data is transported and ultimately resides is very important to us and our clients. Now our attorneys can collaborate on upcoming cases, maintain up-to-date visibility into how their documents are being accessed, and rest assured that confidential information stays out of the wrong hands,” said Shawn Schmidt, Infrastructure Manager with Allens.

Allens’ IT department is also putting Accellion to the test, using the solution to upload support logs and troubleshooting data,  providing a one-stop shop for IT help desk information. Plus, with Accellion Mobile Apps, clients, partners, and attorneys now have immediate, unlimited access to the information they need – whether at the airport, en route to a meeting, or unwinding at home.

“Being able to safely browse, edit, share, and send corporate and auditable information from anywhere is a big priority for our clients and we’ve made it happen with Accellion,” said Schmidt.

Click here to read the full case study.

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IT-Thinking Twice About the Cost of Free Apps

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012

IT- Thinking Twice About the Cost of Free Apps

Most people treat their mobile devices as an extension of themselves. People text, share, and play their way into two year relationships with the devices they use on a daily basis. In the typical mobile device “relationship,” individuals downloaded an estimated 83 apps in 2011, according to Piper Jaffray and analyst Gene Munster. While that number sounds high, it boils down to about 1.6 apps per week.

Many IT professionals have noticed this trend and are concerned about the use of free consumer apps in the work place. It’s hard to imagine that last week’s discovery of the security hole in Dropbox’s mobile app, by U.K.-based iOS app developer Gareth Wright, eased concerns about mobile security. Wright reported the security hole in Dropbox’s native mobile app that could be used to access personal information. PCWorld also confirmed that Facebook and LinkedIn mobile apps had the same core vulnerability. Widespread use, combined with security vulnerabilities, of consumer mobile apps have IT managers concerned.

Consumer mobile file sharing apps serve a purpose for users that want a quick and easy way to share and store things like family photos, recipes, and videos. However, these un-managed file sharing apps should not be used to send enterprise data of any kind. The security hole that Gareth Wright found in the Dropbox app is an unfortunate example that consumer mobile file sharing apps aren’t architected with the privacy and security measures necessary for an enterprise.

How can organizations prevent employees from using these consumer mobile file sharing apps? The answer is easy. Don’t give employees a reason to use these apps in the first place. Providing employees with an easy-to-use, secure file sharing and syncing alternative from the start is a great way to prevent the use of consumer file sharing apps. Employees should be able to send, share, and access files securely, while IT administrators ensure they’re protected from malicious content. Empowering employees with a safe and secure mobile application is the first step in the process.

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Your iPad Is Not Your iPhone: Get Secure

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Over the past year, we’ve seen the iPad become more prevalent in the corporate world – and why not? Its portability is ideal for employees on the go and users are able to blend work and personal use on a single device. Yet, it’s these two benefits that have introduced new security concerns for IT, with the iPad often treated more like a grown up iPhone than a corporate computer.

Of course, the laid back attitude towards iPad security is understandable. Tablet adoption has been predominantly driven by consumer usage, with public Wi-Fi and cloud computing making it simple to upload and download files and applications at will – whether Angry Birds, grocery coupons or the latest corporate PowerPoint.  But, the freedom of anytime, anywhere access, combined with the increased volume of corporate data being shared via iPads, has blurred the lines between corporate access and casual entertainment.

iPad is not your iPhone Get Secure

Yet, the harsh reality is that malicious apps and malware are the number one security threat to tablet computers, followed by public Wi-Fi eavesdropping.  Phishing attacks are phishing attacks, whether your users are on a PC or an iPad, and enterprises need to implement the same strong security measures regardless of the device.

So, what’s an IT group to do?

Individuals should be able to send, share, and access files and applications, while you ensure they’re protected from malicious content. Accellion Secure Mobile Apps is one viable option – providing around-the-clock secure access to files to a range of mobile devices, plus encrypting documents for future, offline use. Plus, if the device is ever lost or stolen, administrators can easily block access remotely and reset credentials.

Let’s face it: your employees were likely attracted to the iPad because it makes their life easier – and maybe a little more fun. So, the key is to boost security while enabling employees to work and interact exactly as they do today.  The discussion on tablet security is far from over, so look for more insight on our blog.

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Tablet Security in the Enterprise: Risk and Remedies

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Today, malicious apps and malware continue to be the number one security threat in tablets, followed by public Wi-Fi eavesdropping. Tablets can easily be infected by clicking on a malicious link or by entering company credentials into a phishing page mimicking itself as a challenge page.

While we’ve seen examples of the mobile platform companies proactively addressing malware attacks – the iPad 2 Smart Cover security hole fixed by Apple’s iOS 5.0.1 release and Android’s 58 malicious applications, which were downloaded onto 260,000 devices before Google remotely wiped the devices clean – it’s simply not enough. Not to mention, these remedies aren’t always applicable to tablet devices, with only a small percentage maintaining an always-on 3G connection, making it nearly impossible to implement a real-time security fix.

Accellion iPad iPhone remedies

Two ways that mobile platform companies have typically remedied security holes exposed by malware: OS security re-architecture or stricter entry programs into app stores. However, the stricter the app adoption rules and implementation restrictions (so as to not allow a bad app into an app store), the less number of apps enter the market in a given time. While Apple has the luxury of highly scrutinizing the apps it approves, Android–coming from behind—has looser controls in an effort to balance innovation with security.

The recent Smart Cover security hole uncovered in iPad 2 and fixed by Apple’s iOS 5.0.1 release is the OS remedy; and Android’s 58 malicious applications, which were downloaded onto around 260,000 devices before Google eventually admitted it and wiped them from devices remotely, is an app store remedy.

Both of these remedies are not acceptable solutions for enterprises. Enterprise IT heads cannot wait for a new OS release or a re-evaluation by the app store when a malicious attack is siphoning confidential data from thousands of devices. The situation gets even more critical when malicious apps get on tablet devices. Unlike smartphones, most tablets are still tethered devices. Only a small percentage of them have always-on 3G connection through which a remedy can be applied immediately.

Accellion Secure Mobile Apps give enterprise tablet users the ability to securely share, edit, send and receive files in their workspace without the fear of a malicious app or link compromising their content and identity.

Accellion Secure Mobile Apps work in conjunction with Accellion Secure Collaboration to keep everything in an encrypted, secure, private container, even if a tablet user decides to download a file onto its local drive.

Should malware infect an Accellion Secure Mobile Apps user device, nothing is lost. Or, if it tries to access the tablet’s local drive, it will see nothing but a bunch of encrypted files. Users could be on an iOS, Android or BlackBerry device, and it will behave the same.

And then there is the internal threat, when people get distracted and leave behind their device by accident. If there is sensitive corporate data on the tablet and the device ends up in the wrong hands, it could easily lead to a reportable data breach. With Accellion, IT has control and management over the application, so if a device is lost or stolen, Accellion administrators can easily block access remotely and reset credentials.

Look for the discussion about tablet security to continue on this blog, but in the meantime, the more you use your tablet like a laptop, the more you should consider taking security measures.

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