We've Got You Covered

A Nokia VP was recently telling me about the company's newest firewalls and VPN solutions. (That they'd been a serious player in the security game for 10 years was something, admittedly, I hadn't fully realized.) He was saying how a secure firewall was important to supporting mobile workers in that they travel, spend a little time on a foreign hotspot, and then--like kindergarteners bringing home the classroom's germs--connect again to the corporate network with who knows what on their machines.

Then he made a little joke about how relatively little security was required "back in the olden days"--beat--"five years ago."

It was a good point. Infrastructure security--the need for security--has changed dramatically as network attacks, even spam, become increasingly aggressive. (In April, Nucleus Research announced that 90 percent of email reaching corporate servers is spam--at an annual cost of $70 billion to all U.S. businesses.) The Nokia VP was the first to say that customers want the "investment protection" of knowing a solution they purchase will be relevant for a good five years. And still, with security there's no room for complacency. Even with a great solution in place, it's necessary to be diligent about upkeeping rigorous standards, training and educating end-users and making sure everyone's complying.

New security concerns are continually arising, and that's why we've enlisted the expertise of Benjamin Halpert, a well-credentialed IT professional at Lockheed Martin (an organization whose security standards can hardly be over-emphasized). Beginning this issue, Ben will be writing a security column in Browser and answering reader questions. So, have a concern? A topic you'd like to read more about? Simply send an email to editor@mobileenterprisemag.com and include Security in the subject line.

Month by month, letter by letter, we'll be working together to strengthen your organization. And we can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Michelle Maisto
michellem@mobileenterprisemag.com