Technology Sectors
Protecting the network from the threat in your pocket
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Patrick Bedwell |
The weak links in today’s network security environment are mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets. They represent the “next big thing” in attack vectors, not just as a target of an attack, but a source as well.
A top concern of many IT professionals in government agencies is how to prevent the compromise of smart phones and tablets by a botnet or other malware. Once compromised, these mobile devices could suffer data losses or infect other systems, thereby facilitating a wider breach of systems within the perimeter.
Several factors contribute to this new concern over mobile devices and the botnet threat:
- The wide range of models on the market means that the mobile devices used to access and store sensitive data are always changing. It is extremely difficult to manage agency-standard devices, let alone the “wild west” of user-owned devices.
- The use of app stores and marketplaces, which facilitate the creation and distribution of new apps, has given rise to the easy distribution of malicious code within apps. Although device vendors try to prevent the posting of applications that harvest data or contain other malware, there are simply too many opportunities for users to download these apps.
- Every smart phone operating system has malware written for it, and the new tablets are squarely in the sights of malware creators. Few devices in use today have anti-malware software installed to block these attacks.
- Employees within government agencies are making it easier to be targets of attacks by posting professional information on social media sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. These posts give attackers knowledge of organizational structure and reporting relationships, making it easier to create sophisticated spear phishing attacks targeting specific groups or individuals.
To address these concerns, government agencies need to anticipate the emerging trend in the threat landscape and expand their definition of the perimeter to include mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets. Including mobile devices in a true end-to-end network security strategy would extend the protection of essential network security technologies such as anti-spam, application control, data loss prevention, intrusion prevention and reputation-based policy enforcement. These technologies are essential to reduce the risk of a botnet compromising mobile devices, block any infected systems attempting to compromise other systems, prevent the communication of a bot with its command and control server and block data loss.
Patrick Bedwell is vice president of product marketing at Fortinet. He can be reached at:
