Intel, IBM , DoCoMo push mobile device security
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LONDON - Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, Intel and IBM have started promoting a jointly developed specification for increasing the security of mobile commerce applications.
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A number of chip manufacturers are showing Google's Android software platform for mobile phones running on prototype or proof-of-concept phones at the Mobile World Congress.
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IBM&#39;s Tivoli Security Compliance Manager scans devices that plug into the network, such as laptops and home computers that may have been unprotected by network security.
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Intel is displaying four new ultramobile PCs designed around its Menlow chips, including highly anticipated devices from Lenovo and Toshiba.
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Security systems can now block the  first computer viruses attack on cell phones, but the mobile  industry sees new risks stemming from upcoming open software  platforms such as Google's Android.
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Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and Intel are pushing the development of an interface technology that they hope will smooth the adoption of compact hard drives into mobile phones, PDAs, and digital music players, the companies say.
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Mobile devices are slowly becoming the targets of hackers, but a more serious threat could be the arrival of the intriguing software-defined radio, which uses software instead of circuitry.
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Software security companies and handset makers, including Finland's Nokia (NOK1V.HE), are gearing up to launch products intended to secure cell phones from variants of the Internet viruses that have become a scourge for personal computer users.
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(Source: Palm) This white paper identifi es security threats to corporate data on mobile devices and details how mobile devices can become a "backdoor" to the enterprise. This paper also details how immediate action can be taken to defend against these threats and which issues an IT security manager should be aware of while planning a comprehensive handheld security policy.
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(InfoWorld) - Power consumption, parallelism, and the rapidly-expanding world of mobile communications are among the leading areas of research and development currently being investigated within some of the IT world's largest companies. Taking the stage at MIT's EmTech Conference (formerly known as the MIT Emerging Technology Conference) on Monday were top researchers from Cisco, HP, and Intel who shared their visions for the products of tomorrow by unveiling some of their leading areas of study and experimentation today. From the growing impact of mobile computing devices to the push to make IT eco-friendly, along with new efforts to take advantage of parallel data processing capabilities, researchers from the three technology bellwethers spoke of commons threads woven through all their work and in what directions they believe the results of those efforts will subsequently drive future technologies. Following a panel discussion on social networking tools that also focused heavily on the impact of mobile devices, Andrew Chien, vice president of research at Intel, said that the chip giant is also focusing heavily on the changes in IT usage and consumption that are being driven by handheld machines. However, despite the rapid development of the mobile space, Chien said Intel feels that wireless device, applications, and service providers are still falling short in terms of how "intuitive" and "seamless" their technologies currently work. "We have a healthy amount of concern about the amount of effort that these technologies require from all of us today," said Chien. "To that end, we're very excited about the idea of inference in the context of small mobile devices, about the richer senses and analysis of data that can be realized based on the body of techniques currently lumped under the umbrella of machine learning." Among the specific examples of the types of mobile applications that Intel envisions taking root in the near future are systems that offer "seamless presentation" of more useful information than those available today's handhelds, including tools that use geolocation and onboard sensors to give users data that is pertinent to their personal condition and immediate surroundings. Both Cisco and HP also count mobility among their leading areas of research, the panelists said, with Cisco looking into ways to merge "telepresence" with its recently acquired WebEx collaboration tools, and HP working on ways to more tightly link handhelds with back-end datacenter systems. Prith Banerjee, only six weeks into his new post of senior vice president of research at HP's Labs division, said that the company's work in mobility, green IT, and parallelism are converging in its larger efforts to make large data centers more efficient in general. In some cases, the work is oriented toward improving performance, such as through the use of photonic interconnects -- advanced electromagnetic technologies -- to allow datacenters to communicate more quickly. In other cases, HP Labs is looking at datacenter power consumption, using sensors built into its prototype servers to reduce costs and headaches associated with cooling the massive hardware farms. The challenges of parallel computing As for parallel computing -- roughly defined as the simultaneous execution of numerous program instructions on multiple or multi-core processors -- Banerjee said that HP is hoping to use its research efforts to help clear some of the software programming obstacles that exist on the market today. "We're very aware in our research of the challenges of making parallel software applications; we need engineers who can start writing code designed for multi-cores and to help transition software designed to run on a single processor," said Prith. If some of those roadblocks can be pushed aside, the benefits could be enormous, according to the HP researcher. "We're imaging a world where you plug in a computer and all the applications work automatically, and users don't have to worry about patches and updates," he said. "We're imagining a world where software is automatically updated and maintained so that environment for end-users will be completely automated and allow them to increase productivity. That is a very difficult problem to solve, but we're going to try to solve it." Another area of focus for all three organizations is the process of refining their internal research and development operations. Under Prith, HP will attempt to lower its overall number of research projects by folding them into larger efforts, the executive said, and Chien added that Intel is having success with "lablets," groups of researchers it sponsors at academic institutions to augment its internal R&D work. At Cisco, the massive networking company is attempting to inject an air of entrepreneurialism into areas of research that it believes can be turned into revenue-producing businesses rapidly, as evidenced by the launch of its physical security and telepresence product groups over the last several years, said Guido Jouret, CTO of the firm's Emerging Markets Technology Group. "We're trying to re-create the start-up atmosphere inside Cisco. So far, we've announced four different units, and the goal is to create one every several months," Jouret said. "We'll also continue to do small acquisitions where we can gain vital technologies or teams to help flesh out our ideas. The idea is to create an interesting mix of entrepreneurial drive." Along with security and telepresence, the company has launched a digital media group s part of the effort as well as a business devoted to replacing the static product displays found in retails stores today with "digitally-driven network displays." Jouret said that the telepresence group is working to mesh device geolocation with collaboration tools and multimedia-sharing systems. "We want to combine video with collaboration platforms for rich multimedia interaction, tools that allow companies and consumers to interact in ways that we can't even imagine yet," he said.
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NTT DoCoMo says: &quot;Symbian - yes, mobile Linux - yes, Microsoft - BIG NO&quot;. Well, previously NTT DoCoMo was very promoting wireless Java in its handsets and J2EE Java in its servers (to power i-mode services
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Networked multifunction devices share PC vulnerabilities to worms, hackers.
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(InfoWorld) - A biometric systems vendor has a pitch for CIOs nervous about company executives losing their mobile phones and risking the loss of confidential information. AuthenTec, a developer of biometric fingerprint technology, wants to address concerns handset manufacturers may have about adding advanced security features to their product by reducing the size, power consumption, and cost of its touch-powered sensors. "Many CIOs would like to put productivity applications on mobile phones but are worried about the handsets being lost or stolen," said Andrew Germano, director of wireless markets at AuthenTec. Biometric sensors could overcome these worries, provided handset makers can deliver the phones in volume at attractive prices, according to Germano. There are challenges: advanced security technologies are among the many other features competing for space and power in handsets' tiny form factor, Germano said. AuthenTec has reduced the size of its original fingerprint sensor from around 1.5 centimeters to less than 4 millimeters and has lowered the power consumption to 1.8 volts. Further enhancements are in the pipeline. Cost is another big factor. AuthenTec has been selling its chips to handset makers for around $3 each but will need to bring the price down even further -- as low as $1 -- if it hopes to see them deployed on a large scale by major vendors, according to Germano. The company plans to integrate additional features into its sensors -- for instance NFC (near field communication) capability -- and sell it at the same $3 price. "We would essentially take features that today are on two or three separate chips and integrate them into one for the same price," he said. AuthenTec sensors already sport a number of features, including fingertip navigation. Users can use a tiny sensor display instead of buttons to scroll through menus or surf the Web. Germano sees opportunities for biometric fingerprint sensors in phones equipped with NFC technology to provide mobile payment and security services, for enterprise users and consumers alike. The company has a number of operator customers, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and NTT DoCoMo.
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Antivirus software specialist Trend Micro (Nasdaq: TMIC) is extending its expertise to next-generation handheld devices with the launch of Mobile Security, an application aimed at smartphones and PDAs.
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IBM and Cisco Systems have unveiled product updates that will tie technology from the two companies more closely together in an effort to secure customer networks from worms and viruses.
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NTT DoCoMo, which recently announced that three of its phones will be based on Linux, invests in US vendor MontaVista Software. By Mobile Pipeline News.
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Cybercriminals attack mobile devices because they have a relatively good chance of succeeding - and worming their way into your corporate network, experts say.