
Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2015. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Adam Ely, co-founder and CSO of Bluebox Security
Mobile data security and vulnerabilities will influence the industry in 2015
2014 will
be known as the year of security breaches. From Home Depot to Walmart to Walgreens, mobile data security made the headlines
this year and threats are only becoming more sophisticated. In addition to
security breaches, we also saw a long list of vulnerabilities discovered in
2014. These events not only had a major impact in 2014, but also will
undoubtedly continue to influence the industry in 2015:
A shift toward mobile app security
Mobile
app security will become increasingly important in 2015 as mobile applications
that contain sensitive data will be more widely used in enterprises and employees
will demand safe and secure mobile applications to protect their information. I
expect to see a greater emphasis on securing mobile applications, as well as
the actual code and data accessed by those apps in the coming year.
A "New Relic" of Mobile Security ... is
your enterprise ready?
In 2014, both enterprises and consumers aggressively adopted mobile for work
and personal use. We will see an increased demand for mobile analytics in 2015.
Enterprises will need to monitor the real-time security posture of apps and
data throughout the mobile ecosystem to protect against threats. There will
also be an increased need in the coming year for solutions that track usage and
attack patterns, allowing organizations to best protect business-critical data.
These solutions will also proactively prevent attacks before they become a
headline problem. All in all, in 2015 we'll see enterprises focusing on protecting
the data, instead of the device.
Closing the gap between iOS
and Android
In
2014, iOS 8 was released, making the platform less restrictive, while Android
added enterprise security features to its operating system, making it more
secure. In 2015, the two operating systems will continue to resemble one another,
forcing enterprises to closely evaluate exactly what they're securing, since
they can no longer rely on operating systems to be completely trustable.
The state of enterprise mobility
management
This
year, we've realized that device-level security just isn't cutting it. In 2015,
the cost of enterprise mobility management (EMM) will decrease as it becomes
commoditized. We'll also see enterprises moving away from managing employee's
physical devices and instead looking to secure the data.
In 2014, researchers discovered
multiple vulnerabilities, including Heartbleed, Master Key and Shellshock. Malware
and hackers evolve every day, so it's no longer a matter of if a breach will occur, but when. For example, we've known about SQL
injection for 10 years, yet we're still seeing apps developed that are
vulnerable to it. With data breaches bound to happen, we must put proper
security measures in place and protect the most sensitive part of our
enterprises, the data. As we reflect on 2014 and the data security events that
occurred, it's clear that mobile security is sure to be top of mind as we head
into 2015.
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