Abingdon, 10 June 2011 – With 56 per cent of IT managers feeling under pressure to support personal devices in the workplace[1], Kaspersky Lab has launched Kaspersky Endpoint 8 for Smartphone. This product will tackle the rise in the consumerisation of IT by protecting corporate data that is stored and accessed on mobile devices from loss, theft, unauthorised access and mobile malware, adding to its range of endpoint solutions, to include Android. The launch of this solution allows Kaspersky Lab to further strengthen its corporate portfolio, available to channel partners.

The steep rise in consumerisation of IT over the past year has impacted on the evolution of endpoints in the workplace. Traditionally, the endpoints that employees used most frequently were laptops and PCs, but this now includes smartphones and Canalys estimates that over 20 million smartphones were shipped into the UK in 2010, of which Android accounted for 20 per cent. This rise in popularity means that both business-owned and consumer devices are now being used to access corporate data, and companies have a hard task on their hands to account for the vast range of devices chosen by employees. 

“The UK smartphone market grew by over 100 per cent in 2010 and more of these smartphones are now being taken into businesses. This creates a significant threat to businesses that have adopted a personal-liable device approach to smartphone use, without a formal policy to add security software to them and then allow employees access to the WLAN, e-mail and corporate date,” said Canalys’ principal analyst, Pete Cunningham.

As this uptake of mobile devices in the workplace increases, it is vital that IT departments protect the corporate and personal data that is being accessed. This is one of the most significant challenges for businesses as they need to strike a balance between the potential cost savings of consumerisation of IT and securing this new endpoint frontline.

Robert Caven, managing director of RMS comments, “With increasing numbers of corporate organisations achieving impressive productivity gains through the adoption of mobile devices accessing the corporate network, the launch of Kaspersky Endpoint 8 for Smartphone is perfectly timed. The advantages provided by this intiative can also present significant management challenges however, from loss of devices through to increasing malware targeting every mobile platform.  Kaspersky's solution  provides a tailor made answer to meeting this challenge and helping our clients to deliver increased efficiency through secure use of both corporate and non-corporate devices.”

Kaspersky Endpoint 8 for Smartphone has been developed to provide businesses with a powerful and reliable solution to protect corporate mobile workers when devices are lost or stolen. The software provides various anti-theft functions allowing businesses to locate the device using GPS find, remotely block and wipe data, and encrypt data. The solution also allows users to protect their devices from malicious programs, SMS spam and internet attacks.

This new software from Kaspersky Lab is flexible and easy to employ and provides businesses with full control over its mobile workforce, managing all platforms from one console, the Kaspersky Administration Kit. It also allows privacy protection for devices that are used in both a corporate and personal capacity, and has all the features of a traditional anti-virus program.

Andrew Lintell, director of corporate sales of Kaspersky Lab notes, “A key concern is the physical loss of these devices. A survey was conducted for Kaspersky Lab of 1,600 smartphone users, and the results found that 20 per cent of all respondents have, at some point, reported their smartphones lost or stolen. This is of distinct concern considering that 90 per cent of smartphone users surveyed store both personal and corporate data on their devices. It is also worth considering that although mobile malware is still in its infancy, the cost of ignoring mobile antivirus can be disastrous for businesses of all sizes. Therefore it is vital that IT departments have full control and visibility over mobile devices to maintain a high level of protection for their endpoint frontline.”