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Cybersecurity in The Surveillance Age

The collection of information generated from the online activities of citizens has become so widespread that today’s digital culture has become known as `The Surveillance Age’. For many observers, the disconcerting part of the recently exposed data-collection activities of the US’s National Security Agency is the conjecture that many companies cooperated in its surveillance activities.

Given the interest these revelations have attracted, it would be valuable to share some fundamental information about mobile security, as well as some guidance to assure that your network and its data are being guarded by a trusted partner. Leveraging my experience at BlackBerry, which is widely recognised as the industry leader in mobile enterprise security, my intention is to arm consumers, enterprise, and government workers with a baseline familiarity of concepts and pro­cedures associated with mobile security.

A key element of security is encryption technology, which is critical to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of a digital transaction between two endpoints, such as a mobile device and a corporate server located behind a firewall. Providing an integrated approach to mobile security, in which data is encrypted while at rest or in transit, is the best protection against the loss of data or a security breach that could negatively impact an organisation.

Strong encryption guards against data integrity compromises, which are typically treated by network engineers or mobile security experts as hostile and untrustworthy. It’s important to note that encryption technologies differ significantly in the degrees of protection they offer. At the highest level, the AES-256 encryption, which is at the core of BlackBerry’s solution, delivers unsurpassed encryption capabilities that protect data outside the oversight of the IT department.

Michael Brown, vice president, security product management and research at BlackBerry.

Any discussion related to digital intrusion or surveillance also has to include spyware. Disguised within a consumer application, this form of malware can be used to gain access to personal information, for anything from marketing to identity theft to compromising corporate data. This growing threat requires security solutions that properly safeguard the privacy of organisations and individuals.

The fact that the number and utility of mobile devices will only increase means the boundaries of the modern organisation are being stretched to include hundreds or even thousands of mobile end points possessing access to the most precious assets, such as intellectual property and other sensitive information. Security in this environment must be built in at every layer to ensure end-to-end protection.

 At BlackBerry, security is our DNA. Our guiding business principle is keeping your data out of the hands of third parties. Our solutions are bereft of `back doors’ or other vulnerabilities. With the stakes so high in The Surveillance Age, it’s imperative that you demand the same commitment from every partner you trust with your information.

For more information, visit za.blackberry.com

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