PDA Security

By Tony Bradley 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. NetSecurityAbout.com 20040901 Most security managers wouldn't dream of leaving file servers or laptops filled with proprietary information unprotected. But the protection could be for naught if the same data is transferred to a personal digital assistant (PDA), which often is overlooked when security is considered. PDA Security: Incorporating Handhelds into the Enterprise trumpets the importance of PDA security and guides system administrators through protective measures. When PDAs first appeared commercially, their capabilities were limited and their risks minimal. Today's PDAs have scores of megabytes of memory and well-developed networking capabilities, making them as important to protect as PCs and laptops. PDA Security is valuable for corporate system administrators who need a PDA-protection architecture for their organizations. The book provides tactics on how to deploy, manage, and secure PDAs in the workplace. Section one of the book offers a comprehensive introduction to PDA technology and security, with sections two and three exploring security mechanisms and strategies such as cryptography in greater detail. The book is not designed for end users; its information is far too technical for the casual PDA user. But administrators who must support and secure many PDAs will find a good resource here. [Reviewer] Ben Rothke, CISSP (certified information systems security professional), is a New York City-based senior security consultant with ThruPoint, Inc. He is a member of ASIS International. Security Management 20040202