practical steps for assessing tablet & mobile device security

Practical Steps for Assessing Tablet & Mobile Device Security

James Tarala, Enclave Security & the SANS Institute

Mobility is a Reality

• Organizations want their toys…

• These devices will not be going away anytime soon…

Practical Steps for Assessing Tablet & Mobile Device Security © Enclave Security 2013

Business Legitimacy

• Almost every industry has discovered ways of enhancing productivity with mobility:– Healthcare– Financial Services– Manufacturing– Retail– Government– Professional Services– And more…


What are we protecting?

• Potentially any / all of your organization’s data• More than simply contacts & calendars• Potentially we are protecting:– Financial records– Private health records– Credit card numbers– Anything in an email mailbox– And much, much more…


What if we ignore the risk?

• The primary risk to consider is the loss of data confidentiality

• If a mobile device is lost or stolen, the information stored on the device is also at risk

• However, other risks include:– Compromised authentication (SMS, soft tokens)– Manipulation of data sets– Impersonation of device owner


Mobility Statistics• Smartphones are second only to laptops in the executive’s

arsenal of devices. While 87% of executives use a laptop, 82% indicated they have some kind of smartphone. (Forbes, 2010)

• More than half of senior executives agreed that their mobile device is now their primary communications tool. Among executives under age 40, 73% see their mobile device as more critical to communications than their landline. (Forbes 2010)

• All signs point to a mobile future. 45% of senior corporate executives said they believe a smartphone or Web-enabled tablet will be their primary device for business-related use within three years. (Forbes 2010)


Mobility Statistics (cont)• 81% of companies surveyed reported the loss of one

or more laptops containing sensitive information during the past 12 months (Ponemon 2010)

• 64% of companies surveyed reported that they have never conducted an inventory of sensitive consumer information (Ponemon 2010)

• 85% say handheld devices used in their organization should require security protection (Bluefire Wireless Security, April 2006)


Evolution of Mobile Risk

• There has been an evolution in mobile computing

• The evolution has been from:– Phones & PDAs– Laptops– Smart Phones & Tablets

• Although device capabilities have evolved, security controls have not necessarily kept up


Example of Mobile Risk


Reproduced from Symantec Internet Security Report 2011

Typical Mobile Device Controls

• Generally organizations secure laptops by implementing technical controls, such as:– Whole disk encryption– Anti-malware software– Application whitelisting software– Personal / host-based firewalls– Strong / two-factor authentication– Secure operating system configurations


Creating a Scoring System

• It would seem reasonable to measure mobile devices against this same controls list

• Therefore we have created a scorecard:– For the latest version of each operating system– For the native operating system (without apps)– For the native operating system (without a Mobile

Device Manager)– However we included the use of BES / AD /

ActiveSync capabilities in the scoring


Whole Disk Encryption Scorecard


Anti-Malware Scorecard


Application Whitelisting Scorecard


Host-Based Firewall Scorecard


Authentication Scorecard


Security Configuration Scorecard


* Limited capabilities. ActiveSync or BES configuration only.

More than BlackBerrys

• RIM BlackBerrys are the modern Lotus Notes• Phrases heard from clients:– “We went with BlackBerry because of their

security.”– “BlackBerrys are protected by default by RIM and

BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES).”• These principles apply to all mobile devices• Develop a methodology for evaluating all

potential mobile options


So what have we learned so far?

• By default most mobile devices do not implement even basic security controls

• Even when software is available it must be configured, it is not “out of the box”

• Most mobile devices require not only configuration, but owners to research & buy additional software to gain functionality

• Centralized management is another issue altogether…


Mobile Specific Threat Vectors

In addition to traditional risk vectors, mobile devices deserve extra attention in the areas of:– Physical theft / loss – Wireless / Bluetooth hacking– Geo-location tracking– General privacy threats– General ownership threats


Minimum Technical Controls

• Already, the following controls for all mobile devices have been mentioned:– Whole disk encryption– Anti-malware software– Application whitelisting software– Personal / host-based firewalls– Strong / two-factor authentication– Secure operating system configurations


Minimum Technical Controls (cont)

• In addition, organizations should consider controls such as:– Functionality limitations (cameras, wireless, etc)– LoJack / phone home– Storage card encryption– Remote wiping– Remote locking– Logging / auditing– “Jailbreak detection”


Governance Questions

• In addition to technical controls, organizations must establish policy to determine:– Can organization data reside on personal devices?– Who is responsible for data residing on a device?– Will the organization purchase mobile devices for

workforce members?– Regardless of ownership, can mobile devices be

inspected by organization personnel?– Can data on devices be monitored by

organizational personnel?


Governance Questions (cont)

– Who will support mobile devices?– Which workforce members will be offered

support?– Will all or only certain types of devices be

supported by the organization?– Will application support be included?– Who is responsible installing / supporting security

software applications on devices?– And on, and on, and on…


Central Management

• Laws are useful, but only when there are sufficient mechanisms to enforce those laws

• If end users can disable controls, they will• Technical controls help organizations to

enforce business decisions• Therefore centralized mobile device

management must be considered


Commercial Enterprise Tools

• May 2013, Gartner releases a “Magic Quadrant” study for mobile device management software

• Evaluates security & manageability• Names the following leaders:– AirWatch– Good Technology– MobileIron– Citrix


http://mobilityjourney.com/2013/05/30/2013-mdm-gartner-magic-quadrant-mobile0device-management



Lessons Learned

• Organizations want to use mobile devices (even infosec groups), do not just be a barrier

• Educate business owners on specific risks and allow them to accept it or not

• Define mandatory and optional security controls for these devices, and stick to them

• But be willing to ban devices that do not meet corporate standards for mobility


Further Questions• James Tarala

– E-mail: [email protected]– Twitter: @isaudit– Blog: http://www.auditscripts.com

• Resources for further study:– SANS Security 505: Securing Windows– SANS Security 575: Mobile Device Security and Ethical

Hacking– Forbes: The Untethered Executive (2010)– Gartner Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management

Software (May 2013)


mailto:[email protected]

http://www.auditscripts.com/