Mobile device management systems take different approaches to sandboxing. Is mobile virtualization the answer?

Michael A. Davis, CTO of CounterTack

November 1, 2011

3 Min Read

Most enterprises must make a tradeoff when it comes to mobile device management, or MDM, systems, because providers fall into one of two camps: those, like Good Technology, that provide a single sandbox where all corporate data goes, and those, such as MaaS360 or MobileIron, where the device has some sandboxing (for email) but most of the MDM client's work is done in conjunction with the operating system's apps and features.

The two approaches have pros and cons, and some organizations have a very difficult time deciding which route to go. Well, life is set to get a bit easier now that Verizon has partnered with VMware and AT&T has linked up with Enterproid's new Toggle to bring mobile virtualization to the market.

While sandboxing is traditionally done at the application level, the new technologies from VMware and Enterproid focus on creating partitions, using virtualization, to sandbox the entire mobile device. That allows a user to run two versions of a mobile operating system at the same time on the same phone: one for work, one for personal use.

In a video from the Qualcomm QPrize event demonstrating Entreproid's technology, you can see how a mobile user can seamlessly switch between the two "phones" and have full access to all 250,000+ real apps within each partition, as if they were the only apps on the device. We can finally allow Angry Birds to be installed in the personal partition and prevent it from running in the corporate partition. Huzzah!

While you can't get your hands on the tech until later this year, it has been discussed since 2009 and has been securing a very well-known user's mobile phone for over a year: President Barack Obama uses this type of virtualization technology on his BlackBerry to separate the highly secure apps he needs to run from the rest of the phone.

The benefits to enterprises are pretty compelling, too. Mobile virtualization provides all the advantages of sandboxing--mainly, full encryption of all corporate data and easy wiping of that data--as well as the benefits of non-sandbox-based approaches; for example, employees can use native mobile apps, such as the calendar and mail clients, without having to be retrained on a quirky interface from a vendor such as NitroDesk TouchDown or Good. There are new benefits, too, such as allowing an end user to upgrade to a new version of Android while the corporate partition stays at a corporate-enforced version.

We don't recommend you hold off on your MDM or mobile strategy until these technologies are available, since all the vendors we spoke with say that'll take a few months. But definitely keep it on your radar. I think that mobile virtualization will be a game changer for the enterprise if phone manufacturers provide devices that will support the technology. The holdup there is that the phone must have enough processor power and should be a dual-core device. Almost all the new Androids are dual-core, and this is something to consider if you provide stipends or guidance for users on device selection.

About the Author(s)

Michael A. Davis

CTO of CounterTack

Michael A. Davis has been privileged to help shape and educate the globalcommunity on the evolution of IT security. His portfolio of clients includes international corporations such as AT&T, Sears, and Exelon as well as the U.S. Department of Defense. Davis's early embrace of entrepreneurship earned him a spot on BusinessWeek's "Top 25 Under 25"
list, recognizing his launch of IT security consulting firm Savid Technologies, one of the fastest-growing companies of its decade. He has a passion for educating others and, as a contributing author for the *Hacking Exposed* books, has become a keynote speaker at dozens of conferences and symposiums worldwide.

Davis serves as CTO of CounterTack, provider of an endpoint security platform delivering real-time cyberthreat detection and forensics. He joined the company because he recognized that the battle is moving to the endpoint and that conventional IT security technologies can't protect enterprises. Rather, he saw a need to deliver to the community continuous attack monitoring backed by automated threat analysis.

Davis brings a solid background in IT threat assessment and protection to his latest posting, having been Senior Manager Global Threats for McAfee prior to launching Savid, which was acquired by External IT. Aside from his work advancing cybersecurity, Davis writes for industry publications including InformationWeek and Dark Reading. Additionally, he has been a partner in a number of diverse entrepreneurial startups; held a leadership position at 3Com; managed two Internet service providers; and recently served as President/CEO of the InClaro Group, a firm providing information security advisory and consulting services based on a unique risk assessment methodology.

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