With the imminent introduction of the new high speed GPRS cellular services from all three of South Africa`s networks, concerns are rising that access to the internet will increase significantly - along with the proliferation of viruses, hack attacks and other security risks.
According to Danny Ilic, business development owner (Enterprise Management and Security) and a data security specialist at Computer Associates (CA), mobile access to the Internet has, up to now, been hampered by slow data speeds and limited technology.
"We agree that the mobile industry will boom in 2003 as users gain access to blisteringly fast data speeds," he says.
Ilic says the mobile communications industry will present a very attractive face to the public with a host of state-of-the-art mobile devices, such as powerful hand-held computers and high-tech multi-functional cellphones, reaching the market. New tablet PCs have already made their debut in South Africa in anticipation of this new technological wave.
"However, the serious side to what has been a long awaited industry upturn could be centred on security and data protection issues," cautions Ilic.
"There is no doubt that more business-critical data will be stored on mobile devices. It will be imperative that it is secured, stored and managed efficiently as wireless communications have always been regarded as a prime target for hackers and mischief makers.
Ilic says that complementary security solutions that effectively integrate identity, access and threat management disciplines will become necessary.
"These will enable organisations to minimise their exposure to the diverse risks associated with mobile computing while reducing the ongoing cost of security operations."
According to Ilic, end-to-end security is becoming increasingly essential for today`s highly complex enterprise environments incorporating both fixed line and mobile elements.
"At CA we have approached this problem from a holistic perspective and built security management into a single console/portal for administering virtually all security operations across the enterprise - be they associated with terrestrial, microwave or satellite communications.
"Conventional fragmented security toolkits typically leave companies vulnerable to gaps in technology and processes - and require significant manual and redundant administration," he says.
"In addition, these systems make the implementation of policy-driven automation difficult - if not impossible.
"By integrating the multiple security functions required to protect the enterprise using solutions now available from CA, security managers can eliminate vulnerabilities, streamline cumbersome administrative processes, and more effectively implement best security practices," he notes.
"With the considerable consequences of modern security threats in mind, patchwork security should no longer be acceptable to any organisation," he adds.
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