About.com Rating



Handheld personal digital assistants (PDA's) like the Palm Pilot or the Toshiba Pocket PC are almost ubiquitous these days. Technically savvy users download their contacts and calendars and sync their data on the fly. Some have wireless network capability and may even be able to access and download email. All of this is very convenient, but also creates a security hole for many corporate networks which administrators must address.


PDA Insecurity

Personal digital assistants (PDA's) are a huge problem when it comes to securing data and protecting the network. Users, many of the upper management and executive level, use PDA's because they are small and convenient. They offer the ability to keep your calendar and contacts in your coat pocket along with being able to read and respond to email.

The problem is that they are also easy to lose or have stolen. The actual security on the device itself is usually non-existent so anyone who stumbles upon a PDA will have access to all of those same contacts, emails and calendar information as well as any files such as word processing documents or spreadsheets which may have been saved on it as well.

For PDA devices with wireless connectivity the security risk extends beyond simply having the device fall into the wrong hands. It is even more of a problem if that happens because the new owner would also have access to the network, but they also pose a risk from the possibility to spread viruses or other malware from the PDA onto the corporate network.

My Review

This book provides a wealth of information for network and security administrators struggling to address the security risks posed by PDA's within their networks. It stands out as pretty much the only book addressing the security concerns of these convenient and valuable tools.

The book opens with a fairly comprehensive overview of PDA technology and the security features available. It then moves on to talk about other ways to secure the PDA such as encryption. Most importantly though, the book provides a wide range strategies and advice to help managers deploy and manage PDA's in their networks securely.

As the subtitle "Incorporating Handhelds Into The Enterprise" implies, the book is aimed at network and security administrators and not at the actual PDA users per se. The book serves as a great tool to help administrators begin to tackle the new security issues created by PDA's and to develop and implement structured policies to control PDA security in the enterprise.

PDA's are pretty much here to stay. I recommend that any network or security administrator with users using PDA's take a look at this book to get a grip on securing them.