[LINK] SMH: Apple's Dumbed-Down Smart Phone

[Ivan Trundle]

On 20/10/2010, at 10:12 AM, Roger Clarke wrote:

>> On 20/10/2010, at 8:59 AM, Roger Clarke wrote:>
>>> "unlike the BlackBerry and other smartphones, the iPhone does not
>>> allow a company's IT staff to install and upgrade its own security
>>> software, leaving business networks at risk of penetration"
> 
> At 9:05 +1100 20/10/10, Ivan Trundle wrote:
>> http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/docs/iPhone_Security_Overview.pdf
> 
> I'm deep in other things at the moment.
> 
> Is the gist of the Apple document that 'it's secure, and here's how. 
> You don't *need* to be able to install anything else under the 
> bonnet'?
> 
> If so, is the statement right?

The key statement is 'leaving business networks at risk of penetration', but does not describe potential vectors in any detail.

As the PDF document outlines, iPhones are remotely accessible for wiping and for reconfiguration through policies, and are able to define what network services are available, what software updates can be installed, what apps can be permitted, etc.

The concluding statement in the PDF is ...

"iPhone 3GS provides encrypted protection of data in transit, at rest, or backed up to iTunes. Whether a user is accessing corporate email, visiting a private website, or authenticating to the corporate network, iPhone provides assurance that only authorized users can access sensitive corporate information. And, with support for enterprise-grade networking and comprehensive methods to prevent data loss, iPhone can be deployed with confidence that you are implementing proven mobile device security and data protection methods."

They offer additional resources:
- Enterprise Deployment Guide http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Enterprise_Deployment_Guide.pdf
- Enterprise Deployment Resource and Scenarios http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise/integration.html

...which seem to cover most concerns, but I'm no corporate sysadmin

> [Declaration:  I'm a 26-year Mac user tending Linux-wards because of 
> the company's *increasingly* closed and increasingly manipulative 
> philosophy, i.e. I'm inclined to be negatively biased about Apple 
> these days.]

Ditto (right down to same number of Mac years...), but I am beginning to see an increasing number of offhand statements about Apple which infer that they are manipulative to the detriment of their buyers/users/stockholders/etc. My view is that ALL successful companies are manipulative. ... as are most sysadmins or CIOs, given half a chance.

iT

--
Ivan Trundle
http://itrundle.com ivan at itrundle.com
ph: +61 (0)418 244 259 fx: +61 (0)2 6286 8742 skype: callto://ivanovitchk