Volume 2, Issue 3

Wireless Security: How Scared Should You Be?
Wireless is a snake pit full of venomous, packet sniffing vermin. Or is it?

We've informally surveyed hundreds of the most grizzled security gurus in the business. The responses we've received

In This Issue

span many languages and continents and we've exchanged many pastries soliciting them. The opinions differ wildly in many ways but they all have one thing in common: they confirm that "wireless" security is not the enemy. That bears repeating: wireless security is NOT the enemy.

The enemy is non-standard network configurations recommended by wireless. Opening up the firewall is onerous and often times deploying a server in the DMZ is as well. By comparison, securing wireless traffic is easy. Learn from others' mistakes: fight the right battle by asking "why" before accepting that wireless security is a problem. As the proverb goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

None of this should imply that wireless security is to be ignored. Here are five easy ways to mitigate the impact of those non-standard network configurations:

TIP 1: Where are your devices? It turns out the weakest element of most corporate security policies involves protecting the actual hardware from loss or theft. Manage your mobile assets carefully, always use sessions that expire, and invest in a solution that can clear device memory remotely.

TIP 2: Wi-Fi is the culprit. "Wireless security" typically refers to securing wireless LANs. That's not something for you to worry about. Why? By the time you mobilize your applications there either will be secure Wi-Fi or there won't. If there is and coverage is adequate, use it. It won't affect your wireless project as long as you don't marry yourself to a particular device or network protocol.

TIP 3: Whoa, there! Reign in what goes out. It's neither wise nor secure to deliver everything from desktop applications to mobile devices. Develop data access policies for each type of wireless user and deliver only appropriate data. This is particularly relevant if your organization needs to maintain HIPAA compliance. Also, use SSL to encrypt the data you do send out.

TIP 4: BlackBerry security: the wildly popular BlackBerry isn't just for email anymore. Using the Mobile Data Service ("MDS") feature of your BlackBerry Enterprise Server ("BES") your device can operate behind your corporate firewall. Your wireless data is then as secure as the data on your corporate LAN.

TIP 5: Batch it up. If wireless is not an option now, it will be later. Start in batch mode with devices that may only be capable of receiving data via a sync cradle. No security threat there and you'll get a taste of the benefits of mobility - at least enough of one to help you sell your wireless business case to management.

Aeroprise Index of Wireless Activity
In what can only be described as a sure sign that the wireless conversation is ubiquitous, IOWA unexpectedly surged 40.7% this month. This represents its largest one-month gain ever by a wide margin.

The sharp increase is attributable to the return of the wireless IPO, strong earnings reports from wireless equipment companies, and a slew of press releases in the lead up to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's annual wireless trade show - all topics that fueled the market's latent desire to thumb its nose at wireless naysayers.

Overheard
"Here to stay are easy-to-deploy solutions like the Aeroprise Mobile Gateway that empower employees and yield quick ROI." -Support World Europe

Aeroprise in the News
Wireless Week: "Looking to pump up wireless proliferation in the enterprise sector, Research In Motion has joined forces with Aeroprise to provide "true mobility" solutions via BlackBerry devices for IT service technicians."

Yahoo! Finance: "RIM works with innovative software companies like Aeroprise to help our customers extend their enterprise applications to wireless environments via BlackBerry. According to Joanne Mansur from Northeastern University: "Using Aeroprise to interact with our Remedy applications on BlackBerrys enables our IT technicians to respond more quickly to problems as they occur across campus.""

Tip of the Month: Sleep Easy, Your Wireless Data is Secure
Did you know there's a powerful suite of wireless security features under the hood of your Aeroprise Mobile Gateway? You can administer your security settings by clicking 'Wireless Security' from the Actions menu of your Administration Console.

Here are a few of the settings you can adjust:

1) Specify valid IP address ranges for the devices that access Aeroprise. This will prevent rogue devices from accessing your Mobile Gateway. It will also deny access to rogue users if devices are lost or stolen.

2) Specify how frequently user passwords need to be changed. You can also specify format types for passwords by requiring them to be at least a certain length.

3) Specify how many incorrect logins you'll accept before disabling a user's Aeroprise account.

Trivia Question: Tidal Wave Approaching
Question: Of the following mobile data solutions, which one do corporate users want most?

(a) Browsing and Web services (b) Specific corporate data or applications (c) Wireless email and calendar (d) Customer facing applications

source: Yankee Group
[answer in next month's newsletter]

Last month's question: Of the following countries, which has the highest number of mobile phones per person?

(a) Luxembourg (b) United States (c) France (d) Ireland (e) Australia

Last month's answer: (a) Luxembourg has an astonishing 101.3 mobile phones per 100 people compared with 90.3 in Iceland, 75.6 in Ireland, 64.7 in France, 64.0 in Australia, and 48.8 in the United States.

Resources
Aeroprise Newsletter Archives
Mobilizing Your Applications: A Primer
Aeroprise online demo
Aeroprise customer case study
Aeroprise Partner Portal

Questions
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f: +1(650)404-1185
information@aeroprise.com

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