Pat Finn of Cisco: Two-Fold Approach Needed for Mobile Security

Pat Finn, senior vice president for the U.S. public sector at Cisco, has proposed a two-pronged approach to dealing with potential mobile security risks in government.

He writes in a blog post published Monday that the first step is to train the workforce, noting a recent Cisco poll that 25 percent of civil servants have not had any agency-led instruction on the potential threats of using one’s mobile device for work.

Finn says training could help trigger a review of employee mobile security protocols and hygiene, as well as adoption of best practices intended to diminish cyber attacks, hacking incidents and other vulnerabilities in agencies.

“Users should be encouraged to have an open dialogue with IT teams about secure mobile use and what today’s advanced threats look like and how to avoid them,” he said.

“This will only grow more important as the number and types of connected devices such as wearables become more pervasive in government agencies.”

The next step for federal offices is to adopt a mobile device manager that can address the growing number of connected devices and IT security at all angles, Finn writes.

Finn notes that such a formal program would put in place basic protocols such as remote access for the system administrator and user authentication.

“All organizations – especially government and public sector agencies - should be concerned about finding the right balance of trust, transparency and privacy in their mobility strategy because a great deal is at stake,” Finn said.

“However, by evaluating this two-fold approach, government agencies can avoid losing out on the benefits of mobility and instead, reap its rewards,” he adds.