How to keep your business mobile devices secure?

Summary

Learn how Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition keeps your business mobile devices secure, wherever you work from.

• Ways of working have changed over the past few years

• Data breaches are increasing as cyber criminals target remote workers

• Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition gives businesses control and security of business devices

A focus on mobile security

Successful hybrid working models rely on a robust enterprise business mobile security strategy. This helps prevent security breaches and promotes greater collaboration and productivity, allowing employees to enjoy a better work-life balance.

Hybrid and remote working is driven by employers and workers seeking improved levels of productivity, efficiency gains, better collaboration and a work-life balance that attracts and retains top talent.

The foundation of hybrid working is a strong enterprise business mobile security strategy. Without that, security breaches are inevitable.

Organisations are developing innovative approaches to mobile technology. They're focusing on devices designed for remote working with enterprise-level security that are easy to set up and support.

Choosing the right enterprise-ready smartphone and a network supplier that ensures mobile devices are secure is fundamental to success. It provides a high return on investment, a satisfied workforce and a competitive edge in a challenging global economy.

Embracing hybrid working

A hybrid working strategy should be adapted to what best fits the business, with enterprise business mobile security at its heart.

“It is not a binary choice between office and home. Companies need to allow for flexibility and facilitate all styles of fluid working,” explains Joe Walsh, director of B2B at Samsung Electronics.

The starting point to make this “fluidity” a reality is empowering teams through a digital spine with the right technology, including video calls, collaboration tools and connectivity.

“Fluid working heightens the need for a robust mobility platform,” says Walsh.

New ways of working necessitate a change in thinking. According to a report in the Financial Times, two-thirds of professionals and 80% of IT teams working from home. Therefore, the relationship between employer and employee must evolve.

The business must develop an enterprise business mobile security strategy that matches business need and is sustainable for the organisation and workers alike.

“It is a constant focus, but it is important to establish how the device will be used and what business tasks will be carried out. The business case is about improvement, optimisation and productivity,” says Walsh.

Securing the mobile enterprise

Data breaches are happening more often.

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting remote workers via their devices. IBM/Ponemon Institute’s 2022 Cost of a data breach report suggests the average cost to a business of a data breach is £3.93m. Victims also took on average 237 days to identify a ransomware breach, and a further 89 days to contain it.

As well as the cost and potential fines, breaches cause reputational damage. They can cause loss of trust and lost business as partners, customers and individuals become increasingly aware of data leaks.

“People are certainly thinking about who has access to their data, what companies are using it, is it safe and can I trust this business. Security is super important for companies facilitating fluid working,” says Walsh.

As a result, mobile security is high on the corporate agenda. Many organisations are adopting a zero-trust security approach as an enabler of a successful fluid working strategy.

“The hybrid working movement has been accelerated by Covid-19 and forced organisations to make that change, so a lot of organisations are catching up on security reviews and policies. Fluid working is forcing organisations to adopt a zero-trust security approach,” says Andy Deacon, senior manager for cyber security at Vodafone Business.

Without a zero-trust approach, he warns, breaches risk employers forcing staff back to the office in the mistaken belief they have greater control over security through a traditional “moat-and-keep approach” to data, where the crown jewels are kept behind the corporate castle’s defences.

However, once the breach happens, the cyber criminals have access to all the treasure in the tower.

“The zero-trust approach is similar to a VIP close protection bodyguard unit. You’re constantly making an assessment of whether an individual has access to a system or data,” says Deacon.

A dynamic zero-trust approach

Zero-trust is dynamic and intelligent. Even though someone has access to data doesn’t mean they will automatically get access to it again – even for employees. Access depends on factors such as the person's geolocation and their device.

“Mobile phones, tablets and laptops are typically the entry point into zero-trust for most organisations because that’s the first set of devices that people use to access data. You need a good level of security on those devices because they’re the gatekeeper to the organisation and its data,” says Deacon.

“As organisations transition from moat-and-keep to a zero-trust approach, we are going to see a lot of these knee-jerk reactions unless they fully embrace the zero-trust approach and methodology to enable fluid working.”

Safeguards for data need to be put in place with new monitoring systems and an evolution in how organisations approach security.

Internet of things (IoT) devices must be incorporated into any enterprise business mobile security strategy, and individual privacy concerns must be addressed alongside security at an organisational level.

Decisions also need to be made over putting in dedicated communications lines, or relying solely on 4G/5G and encryption.

“There’s a whole realm of things to consider, but it’s all about business having the right mindset and risk appetites to make the organisation more secure and tighten up data security and monitoring policies,” says Deacon.

An added benefit comes from improved compliance procedures, reducing time and money spent on ensuring data is collected, stored and accessed securely.

“If you get GDPR or information security requests, you know where the data is and it’s easier to delete and remove. A lot of organisations currently struggle with this, but as part of hybrid working, you’ve got to understand where the data is and what format it is in,” explains Deacon.

Introducing Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition

Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition is designed specifically to address the security challenges for enterprises and to enable a good user experience.

“We have spent a long time looking at this space globally. Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition is a complete package of mobile technology and services aligned to give the business more choice, more control and crucially, more protection,” says Walsh.

Galaxy Enterprise Edition allows an organisation to match devices with workers’ needs and their budget, with a range of tablets and smartphones available. At its core is Knox Suite, which provides a complete set of tools to secure, deploy and manage the enterprise’s mobile devices.

“What Enterprise Edition gives businesses over and above the consumer variation of devices is control and security of devices across the estate. Knox Suite ensures that a fleet of enterprise devices are ready right out of the box. They’re automatically enrolled, managed and secured with a defence-grade security platform,” says Walsh.

Most UK police forces use Galaxy Enterprise Edition – so organisations know they can rely on state-of-the-art mobile security.

“Businesses are protected from mobile security threats with up to five years of firmware updates, either monthly or quarterly 1. They can be sure mobile devices are up to date with the latest Android and Samsung security and maintenance, protecting the fleet against malware, phishing or software malfunction,” says Walsh.

Additionally, Enterprise Edition comes with a three-year enhanced service support with Samsung offering next-day replacement 2 so mobile employees can continue working with minimum disruption and maximum security.

Deacon highlights how hybrid working is the key to unlocking cost savings. For example, organisations can choose not to refresh Wi-Fi infrastructure in an office space if all employees have devices with 5G connectivity that are in line with security policies.

“Investment in enterprise mobile and hybrid working unlocks productivity gains. It allows organisations to be more creative in how they provide services and improve customer and employee experience,” he says.

“Working patterns and styles are very much different with hybrid working. Realising that productivity gains are only possible by giving people the right tools and tech is critical in the charge to retain the best talent.”

Vodafone Business and Samsung together

Samsung and Vodafone Business offer a future ready smartphone strategy with security as its foundation and return on investment delivered through productivity gains for the organisation and its employees, plus greater control over security, increased reliability, simplicity and reduced costs.

“Businesses get the best of both worlds through the extensive connectivity and expertise of Vodafone Business with the capability to support a range of devices for a range of businesses with a range of different tariffs," Walsh concludes.

“Samsung is perfectly matched with one of the leading network operators in the UK, which has a history of serving businesses to a very high standard. Samsung’s global team talks to businesses to help them design and innovate. Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition devices are designed to solve the key challenges that businesses face with hybrid working, fluid working and security.”

“Samsung is a market leader in phones, offering great technology and a great choice for businesses to build their digital culture,” says Deacon.