7 August 2008

Resellers often get into conversations with customers that cover the concerns they might have around the desire to open up remote access.

Those employers that thought that mobile working was a tide they could hold back must surely by now have realised that this is a trend that is going to continue to grow and challenge their security procedures.

Only last week Juniper Research put out figures forecasting that the number of subscribers using mobile internet services will rise from 577 million currently, to top 1.7 billion by 2013, spurred by demand for collaborative applications and greater 2.5G/3G penetration.

Despite the inevitable, what is holding some people back are the doubts they have about security. But there are a number of tools that can be used by mobile workers that ensure that not only are they protected but they adhere to the corporate policies set down by the administrator.

The advantage of most of the latest products designed to fend off threats is that they are available via the internet. That makes life simpler for an IT administrator and also makes protection a great deal more tangible for those feeling exposed in a world of threats.

Viatel

Viatel launched a SaaS security solution earlier this year that works by redirecting all traffic through servers that will check the content, regardless of whether the user is in the office or working from a remote location.

The WebControl service works alongside the VPN and can ease security fears by filtering unwanted and dangerous material and blocking threats that are designed to come in remotely and spread across the network.

Mobiu

Another answer that the reseller could give to questions about remote worker security could be to take the approach of using a secure key drive as a way of ensuring that the applications and data that a user wants to keep safe is going to be kept well away from shared and publicly used hard drives.

One of the latest entrants into this side of the market is the Mobiu, which is a SIM-based USB device that acts as a portable desktop. The product, for “the key revolution”, has just been launched and will appeal to those staff who find themselves needing to work remotely on an ad hoc basis.

Check Point

Resellers might also turn to some of the established names in the security market and point customers in the direction of a £15 download available on the Check Point website.

The vendor’s ForceField product sits in the browser and prevents against web-based threats, in particular malware.

The idea of the product is that it supplements other protective measures, such as anti-virus and anti-spyware. Everyone in security will talk about a layered approach and it is of course the role of the reseller to advise a customer that one solution is not going to be enough.