Enterprise mobility has been one of the hottest trends in the private and public sectors to date, while organizations have pushed to get a handle on the much higher volume of endpoints and greater diversity of operating systems that are now accessing the corporate infrastructure. In many ways, BYOD has represented one of the biggest threats to data and network security in recent memory, especially as so many firms have not yet modernized their protective frameworks in light of the unique demands of mobility.
Hackers have appeared to be aggressive in their attacks on devices, especially those with the Android operating system, while malicious applications for virtually any type of OS has increased in prevalence and danger. Business leaders would do well to keep up with patch management protocols and implement more advanced access management controls before a bug translates to lost data and significant issues.
Widespread vulnerability strikes Android
PC Magazine recently reported that security researchers have uncovered a bug that is believed to impact roughly 86 percent of all Android devices, while the vulnerability itself is on a relatively serious level. According to the news provider, although Google has continued to unveil newer, better versions of its operating system that patch bugs somewhat proactively, the major issue has been completely outside of the refinements.
Instead, researchers believe that the bug impacts the database that is used to store credentials of Android users, while hackers that know about it can access highly sensitive user information with ease. The source explained that the types of information that are at risk of breach because of this bug include PINs, unlock patterns, banking network credentials and network access keys.
Businesses that have devices running on Android should ensure that their employees are aware of the bug and take the necessary steps to protect themselves from the potential fallout.
How authentication can help
Regardless of whether Android or iOS phones are more popular in the workplace, the threat to corporate security is significant when allowing employees to use their personal devices. However, companies cannot simply avoid this trend, and must instead face it head on.
By using more advanced authentication tools that anchor identities to a given device, the user experience will be improved and security better maintained over time, leading to more effective management of access and security regardless of which operating systems are in play.