DeviceLock CEO: Lock Down Mobile, Cloud Security

One of the biggest trepidations about cloud computing is how secure it will be, which as this blog has opined before, represents an awesome opportunity for MSPs to shore up security offerings in the cloud and in the growing mobile space.

A recent chat with Vincent Schiavo, CEO of DeviceLock, an endpoint IT security firm, revealed as much. Schaivo pointed to an uptick in data breaches this year as a cue to IT pros to think about new ways to service clients who are increasingly on the go, using mobile devices and carrying mission critical data beyond the firewall. Here are some snippets from a recent e-mail exchange:

"Almost all modern-day smartphones or other mobile devices can be configured to automatically synchronize with host end-points like laptops, desktops or servers when docked."

"Many major breaches have actually been the result of inadvertent data leaks caused by non-technical users who simply dock their device -- not knowing that large transfers of unauthorized information are taking place as part of the synchronization routine built-in to their device."

Further he pointed out that tech-savvy hackers no longer have to breach a firewall or break into a network to do damage; they can simply drop malware on devices that will trigger without the user's knowledge during data migration from a mobile device to a PC.

As for the cloud, Schiavo said that even though some enterprises moved all of their applications and data to the cloud, many managers and staff "still access those resources with traditional endpoints like laptops, desktops or servers. So, the threat vector of dockable devices remains the same."

The onus, he opines, is on cloud service providers to put the customers' minds at ease that their data will be safe and secure and "will not 'seep' across to other clients or leak outside of their protected networks."

In this vein, if you're thinking sure this is what's happening and this guy specializes in security for USB and other portable devices so of course he's going to play up danger, then you're right.

However when you look at offerings from N-Able, which is giving away endpoint solutions from Panda Security to its clients, not only is this proof that the threats are real but that the need for security is too.

According to another CEO, N-Able's Gavin Garbutt MSPs are serving only 10 percent of the "adressable SMB market."

Thus, for MSPs data isn't the only thing that can be locked down -- so can new revenue.

Posted by Jabulani Leffall on September 12, 2011