Mobile policies: Secure your corporate data with acceptable use policies

Think about this, Mr. or Ms. IT manager: we occasionally talk about all of our assets walking out the door each evening. This saying most certainly refers to employees, who are clearly the most valuable assets any business has, of course. But there's another asset to consider in the era of mobile computing, and that's the data stored on the notebooks and other mobile computing devices. As we've recently seen from so many reported incidents regarding potentially compromised data on notebooks (can you imagine how many incidents were not reported?), the enterprise needs to take a very proactive look not just at the technologies of mobile computing, but also the policies regarding their use.

In general, there are two key components to any mobile computing policy: acceptable use, and security. Both of these policies need to be written and distributed per your organization's practices, and it's a good i

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dea to get sign-off from anyone who will be issued a mobile computer or similar device. Putting both into action requires customization to the needs of your particular enterprise, industry, and regulatory environment, but the broad requirements for each are as follows:

The key to success in enforcing policies isn't, however, in technology; rather, it's in developing a culture of compliance. Think along the lines of those "loose lips sink ships" posters from World War II. Mobile computing isn't all that different from the desktop in that key respect.

About the author: Craig Mathias is a principal with Farpoint Group, an advisory firm based in Ashland, Mass., specializing in wireless networking and mobile computing. The firm works with manufacturers, enterprises, carriers, government, and the financial community on all aspects of wireless and mobile. He can be reached at craig@farpointgroup.com.

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