Mobile technologies have ushered in sweeping productivity gains at enterprises across the globe. In many cases, they have been central to the creation of the so-called "real-time enterprise." These same technologies, however, have also increased enterprises' exposure to security risks that are frequently underestimated or misunderstood. How significant is the problem? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, within three years, 40 per cent of all workers will perform a significant part of their job outside of the office. . . .. Mobile technologies have ushered in sweeping productivity gains at enterprises across the globe. In many cases, they have been central to the creation of the so-called "real-time enterprise." These same technologies, however, have also increased enterprises' exposure to security risks that are frequently underestimated or misunderstood. How significant is the problem? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, within three years, 40 per cent of all workers will perform a significant part of their job outside of the office. Research firm IDC shows a similar trend and estimates that two-thirds of the U.S. workforce will be considered mobile by 2006. For today's mobilized, real-time enterprise, it's time to get to work to secure all laptops, handhelds, and wireless devices. Locking down laptops According to the latest edition of the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, more complex worms and viruses -- known in the security industry as "blended threats" -- are becoming the attack of choice among Internet vandals. Such threats are more sophisticated and often exploit several different flaws to increase the chance of infecting a computer system. The number of attacks that could be classified as a blended threat in the first half of 2003 was 20 percent higher than in the previous six months, according to the report. That's especially disturbing news for employees and partners that regularly travel outside the perimeter firewall and connect to the network. Why? Because blended threats such as Nimda,Code Red, and Slammer specifically target laptops outside the firewall in order to gain unauthorized enterprise network access during an internet connection. (Laptop users can also become unwitting victims of Distributed Denial of Service, or DDoS, attacks.) The link for this article located at ebcvg.com is no longer available. . Mobile advancements boost efficiency but introduce notable security challenges that businesses must navigate wisely.. Mobile Security, Enterprise Protection, Wireless Safety, Network Integrity. . Anthony Pell
With the development of smart cards technology mirroring that of the PC development, Linux is also beginning to appear as a contender on the smart card frontier as well. According to Wang Jiping, chief technology officer of China MobileSoft Ltd., Linux . . . . With the development of smart cards technology mirroring that of the PC development, Linux is also beginning to appear as a contender on the smart card frontier as well. According to Wang Jiping, chief technology officer of China MobileSoft Ltd., Linux is gaining even greater traction and penetration for the embedded systems market than the PC market. Wang, who was speaking at the recent Gemplus Developer Conference, believes that Linux will soon be appearing in every type of information device, especially small mobile devices. And as the usage of smart cards proliferates, consumers will be using portable computers with smart cards to access the Internet and to engage in e-commerce. Eventually, the smart card will be important as a means for security and as a repository for personal information. A real life example of applications that have crossed over to smart card technology with Linux is the Simputer, which is a Linux-enabled handheld device. The link for this article located at NewsForge is no longer available. . Linux stands out as a formidable player in the realm of smart card technologies, influencing an array of devices.. Smart Card Technology, Linux Embedded Systems, Mobile Device Security. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
IBM and Consumer Direct Link, Inc. (CDL; Costa Mesa, CA) have co-developed the Paron MPC, a unique handheld PC which combines the functions of a PDA, Bluetooth wireless access, cellular telephone, and biometric fingerprint recognition, along with a security-oriented hardware/software architecture. . . . . IBM and Consumer Direct Link, Inc. (CDL; Costa Mesa, CA) have co-developed the Paron MPC, a unique handheld PC which combines the functions of a PDA, Bluetooth wireless access, cellular telephone, and biometric fingerprint recognition, along with a security-oriented hardware/software architecture. In particular, IBM and CDL claim that the Paron represents the world's first handheld wireless device with built-in biometric user authentication. Although PDAs and other wireless devices are increasingly being used for corporate and personal applications, adoption of handheld computers for use in high-value transactions or for exchange of highly sensitive information has lagged, largely due to wireless data transmission security and user authentication concerns. To enable its use in security-oriented applications, the Paron includes various security functions, including hardware encryption which safeguards biometric user data as well as wireless transmissions. Additionally, CDL supports the device with customized software packages that target secure government and commercial applications. The link for this article located at LinuxDevices is no longer available. . Discover the cutting-edge CDL Paron MPC, a robust portable gadget that integrates state-of-the-art functionalities for secure financial operations.. Biometric Authentication, Wireless Security, Handheld Device, Security Architecture, Mobile Technology. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
Employees who work in risky situations could benefit from mobile technology that uses satellites to pinpoint the location of remote staff. Anglo Communication's Advisor uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to locate a worker's GSM phone and reports its position to . . . . Employees who work in risky situations could benefit from mobile technology that uses satellites to pinpoint the location of remote staff. Anglo Communication's Advisor uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to locate a worker's GSM phone and reports its position to a control centre. The centre then generates a response alert to the phone using SMS, to which the remote worker must respond with a single button press on the phone. If the reply is not received, emergency measures can be put in action. The link for this article located at is no longer available. . Employees who work in risky situations could benefit from mobile technology that uses satellites to . employees, risky, situations, benefit, mobile, technology, satellites. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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