Sophos Advances MDM For Android

Sophos has announced the latest version of its mobile device management (MDM) solution, Sophos Mobile Control 3.0, which is offered both on-premise and as-a-service. This version includes support for Samsung SAFE devices, granting tighter control over how devices are used and making BYOD (bring your own device) policies easier to define and enforce. It also provides integration with Sophos Mobile Security 2.0, which protects Android smartphones and tablets from malicious apps.

According to Gartner’s “Market Share: Mobile Phones by Region and Country, 3Q12” report, Android’s smartphone sales to end users by operating systems jumped to 72.4 percent in Q3 2012. But as more Android owners have begun using their personal devices for work purposes, many organisations have had to adapt due to the lack of security controls on these devices and because Androids are vulnerable to and targeted by malware.

The newest version of Sophos Mobile Control integrates with Sophos Mobile Security, providing enhanced security for Androids. With Sophos Mobile Control, organisations can feel comfortable about embracing Android—all apps and external media are scanned for malware, any findings are centrally reported, and mitigation actions are automatically initiated as defined in the companies’ compliance settings.

In combination with Sophos Mobile Control, Sophos Mobile Security now includes web security, extending URL filtering capabilities to Android devices. With the web security feature, any URL a user attempts to access is first verified against SophosLabs’ hosted database for reputation and malware. When malicious content or phishing sites are discovered, the user will be warned and redirected to a safe site.

Sophos Mobile Control includes support for Samsung SAFE (Samsung for Enterprises), which provides extended manageability for Android devices and supports enterprise features, such as VPN, WiFi and Microsoft Exchange configuration, for all Samsung SAFE devices.

Managing an organisation’s mobile device management licenses in BYOD environments can be difficult and time consuming, as the number of devices being used by each employee can fluctuate throughout the year. As part of this release, Sophos now offers Sophos Mobile Control as a per-user based license, simplifying license management for IT departments. When deployed as part of Sophos’ EndUser Protection license, Sophos Mobile Control provides security for all devices on the network in a single per-user license for mobile and endpoint protection.

“More organisations are struggling with how to implement a BYOD policy. As Android’s market share continues its ascent, and threats targeting Android continue to appear, it’s clear that anti-malware needs to be part of that policy,” said John Shaw, Vice President, Product Management, Sophos. “The latest version of Sophos Mobile Control makes it even simpler for IT teams to implement mobile device management, including built-in anti-malware, making secure BYOD possible for organisations of all sizes.”