CISA Shares Mobile Device Cybersecurity Checklist for Organizations

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued new guidance for businesses to help them protect mobile devices and safely access company resources utilizing mobile gadgets.

The Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) system checklist was made to assist companies in the implementation of best practices to offset vulnerabilities and stop threats that can breach mobile gadgets and the business networks to which they connect. The guidelines given in the checklist are simple for businesses to employ and can significantly enhance mobile device security and permit mobile devices to be securely employed to access company networks.

CISA advises a security-focused strategy to mobile device administration. Whenever choosing mobile devices that meet enterprise requirements, a review must be done to identify possible supply chain threats. The Mobile Device Management (MDM) system ought to be set up to update on auto-pilot to make sure it is constantly operating on the most recent version of the application and patches are used instantly to repair recognized vulnerabilities.

A policy must be put in place for trusting devices, denying access to business resources if the device doesn’t have the most current patch level, is not configured to business specifications, is jailbroken or rooted, and when the device isn’t constantly checked by the EMM.

Strong authentication controls must be put in place, which includes strong passwords/PINs, with PINs composed of a minimum of 6 digits. If possible, face or fingerprint recognition ought to be used. Two-factor authentication must be employed for company networks that call for a password/passphrase in addition to one more method of authentication like an SMS message, rotating passcode, or biometric input.

CISA advises employing good app security measures, such as only downloading apps from trustworthy app stores, isolating organization applications, reducing PII saved in applications, deactivating sensitive permissions, limiting OS/app synchronization, and vetting business-created applications.

Network communications must be secured by turning off unneeded network radios (Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi, GPS) whenever not being used, deactivating user certificates, and just employing secure communication software and protocols for instance a VPN for connecting to the company network.

Mobile gadgets ought to be safeguarded all the time. A Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) system must guard against malicious software programs that can breach apps and operating systems and identify wrong configurations. Devices need to only be charged utilizing the appropriate chargers and cables, and the lost device feature must be activated to make certain the devices are wiped following a particular number of wrong login attempts (10 for example). It is additionally vital to secure critical enterprise systems and stop them from being accessed utilizing mobile devices because of the threat of transferring malware.

The CISA mobile device cybersecurity checklist for companies is available for downloaded here.

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Christine Garcia is the staff writer on Calculated HIPAA. Christine has several years experience in writing about healthcare sector issues with a focus on the compliance and cybersecurity issues. Christine has developed in-depth knowledge of HIPAA regulations. You can contact Christine at [email protected]. You can follow Christine on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ChrisCalHIPAA