1 Business Risks and Security Assessment for Mobile Devices

Computing technology advances in the past decade havecreated a much more flexible corporate workenvironment. This flexibility is reflected in small mobile devices that are easy to use, provide the ability to initiate and receive phone calls and voice messages, send and receive e-mails and instant messages, access an intranet, surf the Internet, and access business applications. These capabilities are available to the mobile device user, whether out of the office or out of the country. Wireless devices make geographic distance a nonissue. Flexibility is also reflected in extremely small mass storage devices. Up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of data (equating to approximately 80,000 boxes of paper) can be stored in a device as small as a pen. Mobile technology has provided business professionals and executives with the opportunity for greater productivity, availability and convenience. Unfortunately, it also has facilitated fraudulent and criminal behavior. Business resilienc