In some cases, that feeling of helplessness is real, particularly if you’re working for a smaller business that doesn’t have a formal security role or a dedicated team to assess and mitigate potential risks.

However, fending off potential security issues is especially important for these small and midsize firms. Given that their employees tend to juggle multiple responsibilities, they rely on mobile devices to go wherever they’re needed while staying connected to corporate data and applications.

Here are 10 ways your organization can remain proactive in its approach to mobile security and management.

1. Make upgrading a priority

According to the most recent NPD Connected Intelligence Mobile Connectivity Report, the average upgrade cycle for smartphones in the U.S. is 32 months — nearly three years. That reflects how often consumers make the move to a new device, and it’s up from 25 months the year before.

That kind of cadence might be fine for people who are only using their devices for personal apps and content, but businesses need to approach upgrade decisions differently. Security researchers learn a lot about the changing tactics of malware authors, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attackers and ransomware campaigns in a three-year period. So do device manufacturers, who are building in protections that specifically address common attack vectors as networks evolve to 5G.

In BYOD environments, it’s critical to set minimum requirements for the devices that are allowed to access corporate systems and apps. Beyond three years from initial release, many devices stop receiving regular OS updates and security patches, making them more vulnerable to new exploits.

If you’re dealing with constrained IT resources, you have to determine the tradeoff between trying to figure out a mobile security strategy on your own and simply making use of what is already market-ready and available to businesses.

2. Make MDM a mainstay

Companies have always made sure they could keep track of the equipment they’ve purchased, but there’s a difference between monitoring what happens on an oil rig that never moves and a fleet of smartphones that have been deployed to on-the-go employees.

While mobile device management (MDM) has been adopted by most enterprises, smaller firms have plenty of reasons to explore it as well. MDM tools can be helpful to companies that offer a bring your own device (BYOD) program but want to make sure employee devices don’t open them up to security threats.

While choosing an MDM solution will take some research, midsize firms can get a head start by making sure the devices they deploy or recommend to employees incorporate security capabilities from the chip up.

3. Whitelisting and blocklisting

Many security threats penetrate companies due to user errors which are often just honest mistakes. Employees might not realize by downloading an app, for instance, that they are effectively leaving the door open to have corporate data stolen from their smartphone.

Whitelisting and blocklisting apps via MDM helps protect employees — and their employers — from these kinds of risks by making it clear which apps and sites are safe.

Blocklists give IT departments peace of mind by blocking access to certain apps and sending notifications when an attempt is made. Whitelists, on the other hand, may be more effective for highlighting the mobile tools employees should be prioritizing over games and social media.

4. Two-factor authentication and biometrics

Weak and easily forgotten passwords can make it simple for rogue third parties to gain access to mobile devices. Two-factor authentication is a straightforward way for small and midsized businesses to begin developing a layered mobile security strategy.

While tokens have sometimes been used as part of two-factor authentication, fingerprints and other biometric identifiers are quickly gaining ground. In fact, 70 percent of businesses will use biometrics for workforce access by 2022, according to market research firm Gartner. Biometrics can be used in tandem with the data separation technologies discussed below.

5. Get comfortable with customization

When new hires are brought on board, they usually aren’t given keys to every filing cabinet, the company’s banking credentials or other proprietary data that require a certain level of seniority or privilege. In the same way, it doesn’t make sense to grant every employee unfettered access to all manner of corporate apps and data.

IT managers can get around this with tools that let them customize mobile devices before they are handed out to their workforce. A good example is Samsung’s Knox Configure, which enables businesses to create a myriad of simple-use scenarios, from customizing boot-up screens to creating dedicated-use devices with only work-related apps.

6. Separate work and play

Even if they don’t have a dedicated desk with their own drawers, companies often offer employees a safe place of some kind where they can place personal items and secure them until they’re needed at the end of the day. Strong mobile security involves taking a very similar approach to the way data and apps are partitioned on the device.

Containerization, for example, allows smartphones to create separate workspaces of business apps and content that can be centrally protected and managed. Administrators don’t need access to an employee’s personal apps or data and can therefore provide the optimum mix of flexibility and security. This lets IT departments lock down sensitive company information, while letting employees maintain confidence in their personal privacy.

7. Ease the updating process

Just as new security threats are constantly cropping up, companies are simultaneously developing fixes that can be applied to mobile devices. Unfortunately, that often puts the burden on a company’s IT resources (which can be scarce or spread thin in midsized firms) to apply all the right patches on a regular basis. According to IDG’s 2019 Security Priorities Study, patch management is still one of the most widely used methods for large enterprises to combat security threats, and smaller firms should do the same.

Technologies such as electronic firmware over-the-air (E-FOTA) mean employees don’t have to wait while patches or other updates are being pushed to their devices. Instead, updates can be scheduled across the entire team, ensuring all updates are tested and compatible, and all devices are uniform.

8. Keep policies current

If employees fall victim to a phishing scheme and get locked out of their devices, or data loss occurs because settings were somehow tampered with, a company will probably be quick to outline an updated mobile security policy for everyone to follow.

Rather than wait until disaster strikes, however, the most successful organizations stay on top of security issues and get in front of them from a policy perspective. At least every six months, review your mobile security posture, from your ability to monitor device usage, points of vulnerability and the age of your smartphone fleet.

Then, look forward to new devices that might be integrated into your workforce as part of new hire onboarding or upgrades across a department. Make sure updated policies are well documented. Of course, make sure employees are held accountable for reviewing and adhering to the policy as well.

9. User training and security awareness

The IDG study showed that almost a third of those surveyed, or 31 percent, cited employee training as one of the top areas where they fall short. “This speaks to the perpetual problem of employees as a security risk,” the authors wrote.

Training and security awareness is never a once-and-done activity, but something that should be treated as an ongoing work in progress. The companies that do this successfully make sure the content is easy to understand and available through different channels depending on their preference. Examples could include tips in an employee newsletter, an instructional video on a company intranet or even push notifications sent to all employee smartphones.

10. Seek a scaleable path

A small company might not be small forever. Growth can come quickly via a strategic initiative to expand into a new market or territory, an M&A or some other tipping point. What won’t change is the need for your workforce to be equipped with the best tools available to do their jobs from wherever they are.

Of course, configuring and provisioning devices one by one is a nonstarter for IT departments, so think about how you can find an MDM tool or related application that will streamline this process as the organization evolves.

Fortunately, none of the Android mobile security tips outlined here have to be developed from scratch. Solutions such as Knox Manage and Knox Configure were deliberately designed to help organizations from small firms to large enterprises with the ability to secure, manage and provision smartphones successfully.

Samsung’s new SSD portfolio will raise the bar for efficiency compared to legacy storage systems, requiring fewer servers and reduced power and cooling for a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The new lineup delivers better Quality of Service (QoS) for SMBs by reducing latency and lowering data delays. The entire lineup provides enhanced reliability and endurance for 24/7 operation, backed by a 5-year limited warranty and optimal Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) ratings.

“SMBs want solutions which are value for money and the right fit to their specific business needs. With our strong legacy in technology innovation and OEM engineering expertise, we have brought this simple, yet optimized SSD line up, which is future-proof when it comes to addressing today’s super computer trends,” said Sukesh Jain, Senior Vice President, IT and Mobile Enterprise Business, Samsung India.

The comprehensive, new SSD lineup includes the following solutions to meet the widest range of SMB data storage needs:

• The 860 DCT is designed for servers requiring SSD-levels of sustained performance and is suitable for various applications including content delivery networks. It allows for a lower TCO compared to hard disk drives (HDDs) and offers high capacities up to 4TB. The 860 DCT is the perfect solution for content delivery network systems and comes with a 20 DWPD rating.
• The 883 DCT is designed for servers used to safeguard critical data, including power loss protection and end-to-end data protection. It offers a high QoS under the SATA interface and will be available in a number of capacities ranging from 240GB to 3.84TB at a 0.8 DWPD rating.
• The 983 DCT is a high-performance solution for servers using an NVMe interface, which allows for blazing-fast speeds and high responsiveness. It comes in two form factors – 2.5-inch and M.2 – and will deliver sequential read/write speeds of up to 3,400/2,200 MB/s (2.5-inch) and 3,000/1,430 MB/s (M.2). The 983 DCT is ideal for real-time big data analytics applications and comes with a 0.8 DWPD rating.
• The 983 ZET is a powerful cache memory solution that offers a new level of performance with ultra-low latency, high level of QoS, breakthrough speeds and high reliability. It is the perfect storage solution for read cache applications such as hybrid caching servers and NoSQL DB, and it comes with a 10 DWPD rating.

All of Samsung’s new Data Center SSDs integrate with the advanced Samsung SSD Toolkit, which allows for efficient and simple maintenance – firmware updates, data erasure, over-provisioning setup and disk status information.

The new lineup will start from INR 9,599 going up to INR 2,01,299.

Key Specifications

		860 DCT	883 DCT	983 DCT	983 ZET
Interface		SATA 6Gbps	SATA 6Gbps	PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.2	PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.2
Form Factor		2.5-inch 7mmT	2.5-inch 7mmT	2.5-inch 7mmT(U.2) , M.2 (22110)	AIC (HHHL half height, half length)
Hardware	NAND	Samsung V-NAND	Samsung V-NAND	Samsung V-NAND	Samsung Low Latency V-NAND
	CTRL	MARU	MARU	Phoenix	Phoenix
	DRAM	4GB LPDDR4 (3.84TB) 2GB LPDDR4 (1.92TB) 1GB LPDDR4 (960GB)	4GB LPDDR4 (3.84TB) 2GB LPDDR4 (1.92TB) 1GB LPDDR4  (960GB) 512MB LPDDR4 (480GB, 240GB)	3GB LPDDR4 (1.92TB) 1.5GB LPDDR4  (960GB)	1.5GB LPDDR4
Capacity1		3.84TB, 1.92TB, 960GB	3.84TB, 1.92TB, 960GB, 480GB, 240GB	1.92TB, 960GB	960GB, 480GB
Seq. Read/Write2		Up to 550/520 MB/s	Up to 560/520 MB/s (480GB-3.84TB) Up to 560/320 MB/s (240GB)	Up to 3,400/2,200 MB/s (2.5-inch 1.92TB) Up to 3,300/1,300 MB/s (2.5-inch 960GB) Up to 3,000/1,430 MB/s (M.2 1.92TB) Up to 3,000/1,200 MB/s (M.2 960GB)	Up to 3,400/3,000 MB/s
Power Loss Protection		Not provided	Provided	Provided	Provided
Data encryption		Class 0 (AES 256)	Class 0 (AES 256)	Class 0 (AES 256), TCG/Opal	Class 0 (AES 256), TCG/Opal
Total Bytes Written3		Up to 1,396TB (3.84TB) Up to 698TB (1.92TB) Up to 349TB (960GB)	Up to 5,466TB (3.84TB) Up to 2,733TB (1.92TB) Up to 1,366TB (960GB) Up to 683TB (480GB) Up to 341TB (240GB)	Up to 2,733TB (1.92TB) Up to 1,366TB (960GB)	Up to 17.52PB (960GB) Up to 7.44PB (480GB)
Warranty4		Up to 5-year limited warranty	Up to 5-year limited warranty	Up to 5-year limited warranty	Up to 5-year limited warranty
DWPD		0.2	0.8	0.8	10.0 (960GB) 8.5 (480GB)

* 1 1MB = 1,000,000 Bytes, 1GB = 1,000,000,000 Bytes, Unformatted Capacity. User accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environment and formatting.

* 2 For detail test conditions, please refer to each product’s respective data sheet.
*860 DCT, 883 DCT: Performance measured using FIO 2.18 with queue depth 32, Z270 Intel SATA 6G port. Measurements are performed on whole LBA range. Write cache enabled. Performance vary depending on capacity.
*983 DCT: Based on PCI Express Gen3 x4, Random performance measured using FIO 2.7 in CentOS6.6 (kernel 3.14.29) with 4KB (4,096 bytes) of data transfer size in queue depth 32 by 4 workers and Sequential performance with 128KB (131,072 bytes) of data transfer size in queue depth 32 by 1 worker. Actual performance may vary depending on use conditions and environment. 1 MB/sec = 1,000,000 bytes/sec was used in sequential performance
*983 ZET: Based on PCI Express Gen3 x4, Random performance measured using FIO in CentOS 7.0 with queue depth 32 by 4 workers and Sequential performance with queue depth 32 by 1 worker. Actual performance may vary depending on use conditions and environment. 1 MB/sec = 1,000,000 bytes/sec was used in sequential performance

* 3 TBW(Total byte written) is measured while running 100 % random 4 KB writes across the entire SSD (TBW = DWPD x 365 x 3 x User capacity)
*All documented endurance test results are obtained in compliance with JESD218 Standards. Please visit www.jedec.org for detailed information on JESD218 Standards

* 4 For 5-years warranty case, please contact your local Samsung sales representative.

* 5 The NVM Express® design mark is a registered trademark of NVM Express, Inc.