“Apple’s latest gadget, the iPhone, combines three devices into one: an iPod, cellphone and Internet communication device. But while it is a cool device, the iPhone can be a major security risk to corporations who may want to use it as a business tool, according to Ari Tamman [sic: correct name is Tammam], vice-president of channels with Promisec, an internal network security provider. ‘There are quite a number of ways that the iPhone could provide security problems to an organization,’ said Tamman,” Vanessa Ho writes for ConnectIT.
Ho writes, “One such security risk, Tamman pointed out, is the fact that iPhone can act as a mass storage device that can be attached to a computer where an unscrupulous employee could take classified information that is not allowed outside of an organization. ‘That is a huge concern most people are thinking of and [the iPhone] doesn’t offer the piece of mind for security conscious businessmen,’ he added.”
“In addition to data leakage, another security risk to corporations and its assets is that the iPhone can connect to the Internet, either via a USB cable or wirelessly, that can gain access to a corporate network to not only steal information but introduce malicious code or threats,” Ho writes.
Ho writes, “If companies are going to allow their employees to use the iPhone as a business tool, Tamman said that they are going to have to look at what are the avenues into the corporate network the iPhone can use and how it can be secured. The problem here is that since the device is so new there is not yet enough information on its specifications for companies to make clear-cut decisions on how to best secure networks from the device… Aside from the security risks, Tamman added that the iPhone really isn’t very practical for the corporate environment and does not advise corporations to allow it for business use.”
MacDailyNews Take: If there is not yet enough information on its specifications for companies to make clear-cut decisions, then how can Tammam say that iPhone “isn’t very practical for the corporate environment” and advise against iPhone use in business settings?
Ho continues, “One of the problems with the iPhone for corporate use said Tamman is the device doesn’t allow third applications to run on it and that the device has its own Web-based email system that doesn’t support Microsoft Exchange or IBM Lotus Notes, which is what most companies are using today.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s iPhone supports MS Exchange via IMAP. There is still the question of whether iPhone will support Exchange Direct Push (Engadget has more on that issue here).
Ho continues, “He added that the iPhone is competing with existing PDAs out there like BlackBerry’s or Palm Trios [sic] that provide users with full office functionality such as supporting Exchange and Lotus Notes. ‘There is no real business benefit that is not provided by existing PDA vendors. If I can’t manage my corporate life or business life, [then the iPhone] is really just another gadget, like the iPod music player, but doesn’t give me any enterprise functionality,’ he added.”
MacDailyNews Take: Again, Apple’s iPhone supports MS Exchange via IMAP. The ability to make phone calls, use visual voicemail, text via SMS, manage massive contact lists, display photos, audio, and videos, browse the web with a full-featured browser, send and receive rich html POP3 or IMAP email, utilize integrated Google Maps, view real-time stock and weather reports, with built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0 doesn’t give users any enterprise functionality or allow them to manage their corporate life or business life?
Ho continues, “For now, the device is aimed more at the consumer market and Tamman sees the iPhone being positioned as replacing someone’s iPod or regular cellphone — not one’s BlackBerry.”
Full article here.
The sole purpose of this article as we see it: cast fear, uncertainty, and/or doubt (FUD) upon Apple iPhone use by business people via incorrect statements and/or unfounded speculation while suggesting that corporations stick with BlackBerry or Palm devices instead. The combined public relations departments of all the companies that are threatened by Apple’s iPhone would be hard pressed to produce a more FUD-ridden piece.
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RealMoney: Apple just blew up the whole damn mobile-phone supply chain with its new iPhone – January 11, 2007
eWeek: Apple iPhone fallout: ‘They must be crying in Nokia-ville and other telephony towns today’ – January 10, 2007
Jefferies downgrades Motorola on fears of market share loss to Apple iPhone – January 10, 2007
Time: ‘iPhone could crush cell phone market pitilessly beneath the weight of its own superiority’ – January 09, 2007
Apple debuts iPhone: touchscreen mobile phone + widescreen iPod + Internet communicator – January 09, 2007
The massive FUD campaign against Apple’s iPhone ramps up – January 10, 2007
Moron. They exist.
omg, i feel dirty after reading that!
“piece of mind”?
The idiom is “peace of mind.”
Nobody knows all the specs yet so how can he write this CRAP! If it runs OSX it’s more secure than any Windows device.
What an idiot. How is this any different than the millions of USB flash drives that go in and out of offices every day?
BTW, my wife’s company has managed to lock these out – her company laptop won’t recognize the things – so anyone worried about mass storage devices already has the means to deal with it.
Oh, and the concern is not that something might get OUT, but that something (say the latest virus) might get IN.
What an idiot. I said that.
It is staggering the amount of “fact” being based on a distant third party look at a prototype, not yet to market, and unfinallized product.
There is a greater security risk from flash drives and yet very few companies have any policy against them. But, the iPhone’s storage is supposed to be a noteworthy risk? Laughable.
YEAH! Cmon now let’s see all the fanboys go crazy! MDN is the biggest of them all! There is “some” truth to the article. You can’t read or edit any Word or Excel files, that is a huge blow for the corperate world. Our company would love the iPhone but it’s flawed in this area and no support for Lotus Notes, yes Lotus Notes SUCKS!No 3G on the phone that’s is so STUPID for the cost of the phone it should have 3G no excuses! Now don’t get all crazy Apple fanboys, Apple might change this later but as of right now corporate america will not embrace this.
Since there is definitely not enough information to make any ascertation about the complete functionality of Apple’s iPhone then this article has absolutely no grounding. From what we know for a fact (via Apple’s web page and Steve Jobs’ keynote) this device is, contrary to the article, perfectly suited for business use. iPhone runs OS X which is inherently more secure than other OS’s that can be mentioned. So as far as security goes, it’s a non-issue.
Most “smart” phones already give the capability to hold vast amounts of business data so that argument is simply unfounded.
MDN is absolutely correct. This article is nothing more than a regurgitation of FUD to sway some simple minded individuals in corporate settings. iPhone is, to date and according to what we’ve officially seen and heard about it, the ultimate tool for any corporate setting.
I wonder who’s paying this guy off to write this article?
Magic word: “them” Enough said.
Serious question-I have a cheap phone, and its for personal use not business, and I am looking forward to June to possibly upgrade. But regardless of the (many) apparent merits of the “iPhone”, are there that many $500 phones being handed out by large or small businesses to employees?
If I was running a small business, you can bet my employees and I would NOT be using anything this expensive. Am I missing something here?
ALL I CAN SAY IS WHAT ALOAD OF CRAP.
I work for one of the biggest Oil company’s in the world and our standard company mobile is used as a storage device, access the internet etc every bloody day.
Believe me, the company I work for are totally security aware, but they are not bothered about this ‘ALLEGED SECURITY RISK’.
Absolute crap about the iPhone – you can do all this on a standard cheap mobile.
Him mentioning the iPhone is totally irelevent – this functionality is the same as all mobile phones so therefore the RISK IS NOT JUST IPHONE MOBILES.
Get a life nerd – for fscks sake wake up and join the real world.
Oh yeah the security risk talked about in this article is a joke the iPhone will not be a security risk at all!
There’s still 5 months for features (like Office support, Exchange Direct Push, etc.) to be added. Anyone who thinks the features introduced at MacWorld were the final feature needs to do a little research on the project before offering an opinion.
Can you hear the terror? Is this another MS evangelist doing damage control?
They know what’s coming, and they are scared shitless. =)
-c
Looks like some people have some FUD of their own about the impact of the iPhone on their products.
This exposé is yet another reason why I love MDN!
If you look at the original article, you see that it is an integrated marketing rag… spin doctors for advertisers masquerading as news.
Go the next level and look at the source for the “story” and analysis… Promisec’s Tammam…
Search the Promisec web site for “Macintosh” and the site has no found articles at all. Not one… Look for “Apple” and it appears that the “hits”” are actually on the word “applets”.
This FUD re; iPhone is from a company that deals with internal network security? I would think that this company has a rather limited focus.
Blackberries, thumb drives and any physical access to the computers in any office remains an important security risk… you still have to trust your employees – at least to some degree.. or you won’t get ANY work done.
I should have known. It’s the clubbing of baby seals season. I only have one question: who is feeding these wonks in the IT publications the FUD talking points? Microsoft? RIM? Palm? Nokia? Verizon?
These FUD attacks are too shrill and too coordinated to be random. Let’s face it, boys and girls, Steve Jobs has pissed on their cornflakes, and they’re freaked out. A consortium of enemies old and new will do anything to crush the iPhone. They’re frantic, because Apple has done something disruptive, they don’t have a good answer to the challenge and won’t for quite some time. The iPhone threatens their comfortable little world. The sad part is that the starched suits in their silk choke collars might believe the BS.
If these putzes could have made a credible case for it, you would see a cavalcade of FUD about the iPod not being good enough to meet the standard for corporate music, and thus must not be allowed in the Enterprise. As it is, we saw FUD (I even was told not to bring one to work at my old company) from IT management saying that the iPod was a mass storage device and could thus be used for corporate espionage. Uh huh. Um, right.
Now you know how Preston Tucker must have felt.
“iPhone can act as a mass storage device that can be attached to a computer where an unscrupulous employee could take classified information that is not allowed outside of an organization.”
Why use an iPhone when you can do the same thing with a $19 USB flash drive? Doh!
It’s a shame that alot of sheep businessmen will read this article and believe the crock coming from this guys keyboard! Maybe not if, but when, the iPhone has GPS tied in directly with Google Earth instead of just Google Maps, then they might find a reason to buy it. Buncha cheap sheep!
Agreed. A giant sugary FUDsicle. Nice piece of analysis, MDN.
Fanboi wrote:
Oh yeah the security risk talked about in this article is a joke the iPhone will not be a security risk at all!
I beg to differ. There is a security risk, a risk to someone’s job security. In a Windows-mindset world, to some people, that is the only security that matters.
What a bunch of jerks – especially MDN.
There are security concerns for all mobile storage devices. There are concerns about people using USB memory sticks, and iPods. These are legitimate business security concerns. The only way in which this is FUD is by not pointing out that this problem affects many other devices too.
The concerns that the guy has about not being able to run third party applications are also completely valid. To spout on saying “but you can access Exchange using IMAP” is FUD itself.
Businesses often need more than just email from mobile computing devices. A business smart phone may have a complete product database loaded onto it. It could have a sales ordering system installed. Without the ability to install third party applications these things are effectively ruled out on the iPhone.
You can argue that these things can be done with web applications, but that can be terribly inefficient. In the real world you’re often better off with a local application with local data – you can’t rely on Wifi or EDGE.
There will be a few businesses for whom the iPhone’s restricted feature set will suffice, and they may consider adopting it. Most however will stick with their existing Blackberry, Palm, or Windows Mobile based solutions.
I think this is a real shame – the iPhone would have tremendous potential within business if Apple opened up development.
This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by the fine folk at Microsoft, Inc where we take security and your well being seriously.
Mass storage device? Come on, what portable electronic device CANNOT act as a mass storage device these days? Nice try.
All of the WM5 phones the MS geeks here at my work can all be used as mass storage devices.
also, if anything, I bet the iPhone by default will be formatted HFS+ which, without custom drivers, PeeCees cannot read anyway.
Of course, Macs can read all PeeCee formatted volumes with no issues.