What the Hillary Clinton email issue tells us about mobile security

• Clinton’s misstep reflects the modern complexities of mobile security
• What can businesses learn from this?

OVER the past months, Hillary Clinton’s use of her personal email account for official business has raised many questions, from the security of classified information to weak policy enforcement.
 
But whatever the questions are, the most important one to ask is: What can organisations take away from this, with regards to securing their users and devices?
 
Here are three critical lessons:
 
1) Mobile user behaviour is changing
 
With the ubiquity of public cloud services and mobile devices, users now have their own working styles, like how Clinton (pic) – who earlier this month announced she would be running for the US presidency in 2016 – chose to work from her personal device instead of a government-issued one.
 
Today, professional and personal lines are blurring. Users can move confidential data between corporate boundaries and third-party servers or hardware, with just a few clicks. Organisations must find a way to monitor and regulate this.
 
2) Small user habits can lead to big issues
 
Acts like using a private email account may seem trivial, as they can be easily concealed and have no immediate consequences.
 
But in Clinton’s case, it caused her some complications. This shows that a small habitual pattern may result in more severe outcomes over the long run.
 
3) The need for a no-nonsense approach to mobile security
 
Policies are put in place for a reason. They protect the interests of the company and customers. Users who attempt to break or straddle the guidelines do so at great risk.
 
And with tightening regulations in several industries such as banking, the need for security compliance has never been greater. A good security strategy should have the power to set rules which are strictly applied, regardless of who the users are.
 
To prevent such issues, organisations can adopt a mobile security framework that can protect devices, users and enterprise applications and data.
 
James Chia is managing director, South-East Asia, Aruba Networks.
 
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