What Is Enterprise Mobile Security?

Importance of Enterprise Mobile Security

As employees work on the go, from outside the traditional office, security strategies and tools need to be updated. This has led to the development of mobile security best practices and solutions that extend endpoint protection to smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other mobile devices.

Enterprise mobile security ensures that employee mobility doesn’t increase the risk of cyberattack.

The Shift to Mobile Access

Businesses are shifting away from locally run software installed on corporate-owned, fully controlled devices connected to a fixed local network.

Employees now want to access corporate systems and handle business data from mobile devices. 

Greater Flexibility and Productivity

This enables flexible working arrangements, allowing staff to accomplish more when they’re away from the office.

Whether it’s at home, away on a work trip, during the commute, or at the local coffee shop, mobile employees can improve their productivity by working on their own terms.

The Security Challenge

But, this requires new mobile device security controls that consider cyber attacks targeting these additional endpoints and the business resources they have access to.

Legacy security models can’t handle dynamic and distributed endpoints. 

For example, traditional controls like perimeter firewalls or on-premises access policies assume that users operate within known, controlled environments.

Unique Mobile Device Threats

Enterprise mobile devices extend your attack surface and present unique risks that are not covered by traditional security tools. Without proper management, safeguards, and mobile security best practices, these devices provide a new entry point for cybercriminals to exploit sensitive business data.

Many of these threats stem from the portability of these devices and their need to access corporate resources through uncontrolled networks, as well as the reduced control that security teams have over the devices.

The primary threats to consider for enterprise mobile devices are:

• • Device Loss or Theft: Mobile devices containing business apps and sensitive data that go missing are an immediate security liability. These devices can grant unauthorized users direct access to your corporate systems.
  • Unsecured and Public Wi-Fi Networks: Mobile users often access business systems through public networks (e.g., coffee shops, airports, hotels) without fully understanding the associated risks. These networks are common targets for Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks, where attackers intercept traffic to steal credentials or inject malicious content.
  • Outdated Software and Unpatched Devices: Businesses must update all mobile devices to ensure they run the latest and most secure software. Running outdated mobile operating systems or unpatched apps leaves devices exposed to known exploits.

• Excessive App Permissions: Granting apps excessive permissions to features on a mobile device can lead to unnecessary risk. Compromised apps may exploit these permissions to funnel data from the device to cybercriminals.

• Phishing Attacks: Mobile devices are particularly vulnerable to phishing, as employees using smaller interfaces might miss indications of an attack.

Insider Threats: Whether intentional or accidental, insider threats pose a significant danger to enterprise mobile security, as employees inadvertently share sensitive files through unsecured apps, mishandle company data, or deliberately leak information.

Real-World Example of Mobile Cyber Attacks

Real-world examples of mobile cyber attacks exploiting mobile devices include Joker and Rafel RAT.

Joker

The most prevalent mobile malware in 2024, Joker subscribes users to premium services using a range of covert tactics. A notable example of a widespread Joker attack is the Beauty Camera app on the Google Play Store, which was downloaded over 100,000 times.

The app included an embedded Joker variant that stealthily downloaded resources from remote command and control (C2) servers for malicious activities.

Rafel RAT

Rafel RAT is an open-source Remote Access Trojan (RAT) targeting Android devices that is regularly used for espionage and ransomware attacks. Research found it was deployed in 120 campaigns targeting high-profile entities within the military industry, gaining access to accounts and exfiltrating data.

The Most Common Enterprise Mobile Security Challenges

Even with strong tools and policies, enterprise mobile security presents significant challenges. Below are some of the most common and impactful issues organizations face in securing mobile devices:

Managing the Diversity of Mobile Devices and Delivering Consistent Protections

Unlike standardized desktop environments, enterprise mobile ecosystems are fragmented. Organizations must develop policies that support a range of smartphones, tablets, and laptops across different brands, models, and operating system versions.

Managing updates, enforcing policies, and maintaining compliance becomes significantly harder when there’s no single hardware or OS baseline.

Promoting Mobile Security Best Practices and Eliminating Unsafe User Behavior

Human error remains one of the most significant mobile security vulnerabilities.

Employees may reuse weak passwords, skip security updates, unknowingly install risky apps, or become more susceptible to social engineering attacks due to smaller screens and quicker interactions. Mobile devices are highly personal, leading to behaviors that often don’t align with enterprise security standards.

Any mobile device security strategy you implement must account for unsafe user behaviors.

Utilizing Unsanctioned Apps or Shadow IT

Another unsafe user behavior is the use of shadow IT, apps not approved by the security team that reduce visibility and create protection gaps.

Uploading, sharing, or storing data outside of approved applications makes it harder for organizations to:

• Enforce compliance
• Track access
• Detect threats

BYOD Security that Maintains User Privacy

BYOD security introduces a unique trade-off between protecting corporate data and maintaining privacy on devices the company doesn’t fully control. When employees use personal phones or tablets for work, IT teams must enforce policies without overreaching into their private apps or data.

This requires solutions like mobile app containerization, which separates personal and business environments.

Security Without Impacting User Experience

Another trade-off is finding the balance between security and user experience.

Lengthy security controls, such as repeated MFA prompts or restrictive access policies, can frustrate users and even lead staff to seek insecure workarounds.

A key goal of enterprise mobile security is to deliver robust protection that feels seamless to the end user. Many new approaches, such as SASE mobile integration, provide frictionless user experiences that aid adoption and productivity without sacrificing security.