Cisco Rolls Out iPhone Security App

Cisco launched an iPhone application Friday aimed at helping corporate security managers respond to threats on-the-go.

Aimed squarely at enterprise IT departments, the app is networked to Cisco's Security Intelligence Operations to enable users to receive realtime notifications of attacks on a corporate network. This system uses information from about 700,000 sensors at ISPs, the company's sites, and other locations to assess threats. The SIO To Go app allows users to personalize these alerts, and it includes other information for tracking threats.

"It improves the means by which IT departments are alerted to threats, and it provides added confidence and device flexibility as Cisco customers are shielded from these breaches," said Marie Hattar, VP at Cisco, in a statement.

Cisco's app will be free and should be available soon in Apple's App Store, the company said. The focus on IT professionals is another sign that Apple's mobile devices are penetrating the enterprise market, which has the potential to steal market share from Research In Motion and its BlackBerry platform.

While Apple has been primarily targeting its smartphones at consumers, it has made incremental improvements with each firmware to make the iPhone more acceptable for corporations. For example, the 3.0 software added hardware encryption and remote wiping capabilities.

Some security analysts still say there are too many holes in the platform for it to be truly enterprise-ready. One issue is that the apps, including SIO To Go, have to be downloaded and installed through iTunes or directly from the handset, and many corporations would prefer an app deployment process over which they have more control.