Researchers at University of Ulm in Germany have discovered a weakness in the Android operating system that means it is possible to tap into the transfer of information between the phones and the internet, and thereby gain access to personal data.

The story was reported by the BBC earlier today, and news of the security weakness has quickly spread causing concern to users of the technology. The researchers went on to report that alarmingly most versions of the Android operating system pass unencrypted authentication tokens, and were therefore vulnerable. Although this vulnerability was fixed in version 2.3.4 of the operating system, official figures suggest that only 0.3% of Android phones are currently running this software.

If you are an Android user and haven’t done so yet, upgrade to the new operating system quick!

As businesses beome more accepting of mobile working practices, and in turn reliant on their employees using tablet and smartphone technology to stay in touch and remain productive (either corporate devices or personal handsets), it is importnat they design and implement robust security policies that will protect the user and data they may access with these devices.

Adding encryption solutions to protect corporate applications and information accessed on mobile devices is an essential step, such as that offered by Good Technology, providing an effective and easy to deploy measure to safely bridge the gap between social and secure usage, protecting business and personal information so that users can connect and collaborate safely.

For more on the story and Imerja’s comment on the news, read: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1388107/New-smartphone-privacy-alert-Android-handsets-prone-leaking-data.html#ixzz1MeKSCnCw

A global survey of businesses regarding endpoint security trends, carried out by Check Point Software Technologies, has found the number of remote workers continues to grow and businesses need to expand their IT measures to safeguard the increasing mobile workforce.

According to the survey of 224 IT and security administrators, over 40 percent of businesses in the last year have more remote users connecting to the corporate network from home or when travelling compared to 2008. Check Point discovered the clear majority (77 percent) of businesses have up to a quarter of their total workforce consists of regular remote users.

Yet, regardless of the growth in remote users, Check Point found just 27 percent of respondents say their companies currently use hard disk encryption to protect sensitive data on corporate endpoints. In addition, only 9 percent of businesses surveyed use encryption for removable storage devices, such as USB flash drives. A more mobile workforce carrying large amounts of data on portable devices leaves confidential corporate data vulnerable to loss, theft and interception. 

“With less than 30 percent of businesses saying they use data encryption, the majority of corporations are left dangerously exposed to the risk of a serious data breach,” said Juliette Sultan, head of global marketing at Check Point. “Fortunately, the survey data also shows enterprises recognize the need to address the issue, particularly with a growing mobile workforce.”

Check Point’s survey revealed approximately 47 percent of respondents plan to purchase an endpoint security solution in the next year with disk encryption (24 percent), NAC (22 percent) and media encryption (13 percent) being the most popular endpoint applications. Desktop antivirus (90 percent), antispyware (56 percent), personal firewalls (49 percent) and VPN clients (49 percent) remain the leading endpoint applications already deployed within the organizations surveyed.

IT staff surveyed at companies with less than 5,000 employees also report they currently use endpoint products from an average of three different vendors in their organizations, causing security management issues. Larger enterprises use on average endpoint products from five different vendors and also feel the complexity is difficult to manage effectively.

Check Point Endpoint Security is the first and only single agent to combine all the critical components for total security on the endpoint. With over 10 integrated security capabilities, Check Point Endpoint Security delivers higher levels of security while providing a transparent end user experience. Endpoint Security is the only single agent to include Check Point WebCheck pre-emptive browser security, Full Disk Encryption, port and removable media protection and remote access VPN with traditional components of endpoint security.

The Check Point survey covered a range of business sectors. Eighteen percent of respondents were from the finance sector, 14 percent from manufacturing and 11 percent from local or national government.  Forty-four percent were from North and South America, 42 percent from EMEA and 11 percent from Asia Pacific region.  In terms of organisation size, 23 percent had up to 99 employees, 25 percent had 100 to 499 employees, 13 percent had 500 to 999, 24 percent had between 1,000 and 4,999 employees and 15 percent had more than 5,000 employees.

“Lost or stolen data is a security concern that is very much preventable. Check Point Endpoint Security is designed to protect sensitive data,” concluded Sultan.