Security of Handheld Devices Jesse Cowan

Handheld Security Categories Password Theft Viruses and Data Corruption Data Theft Through Line Sniffing Theft of the Device Itself Mobile Code Vulnerabilities Wireless Vulnerabilities

Fast-Growing Technology PC > Laptop > Handheld Lines between devices becoming blurred More computing power attracts software developers of good and bad nature ---------------- -------------------

Handhelds in the Workplace Synchronization of data used to happen on a PC More powerful, more problems No standard software Headaches for network admins

Viruses More computing power attracts software developers Mainly affect handhelds that surf the web Capable of spreading viruses to your pc and possibly to networks Capable of launching/receiving DoS attacks Wireless vulnerabilities only affect devices that use wireless applications and have a wireless port open

Security Measures Lots of different software Manage link to PC / Anti-Virus software If you’re on a network with important data, access web services through a VPN, network speeds through a VPN will be slower, though

Physical Liability Small, easily stolen Getting data from them is as simple as powering them on The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Developing methods to stop unauthorized access Proximity Beacons / Unauthorized Access in unauthorized locations Smart cards / Size restraints (possible card to fit in Micro SD slot)