RemoSync Security

The most secure email on the most reliable network

Security is a prime concern of many companies, and for good reason. Data theft is a real threat and linking corporate data, like email, calendars, and contact lists, to handheld devices increases the possibility of your data being compromised. Handheld devices introduce new potential vulnerabilities, from theft of the mobile phone to transmission of data over networks not under your company’s control.

Because of this, RemoSync incorporates security features that rank it among the most secure of mobile email systems and allows you to take advantage of the productivity of a mobile workforce while maintaining information security.

Security Principles

RemoSync security operates on several interrelated principles that assure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data.

The first is comprehensive security, covering all the links in the communications chain. After all, a chain is only as strong as the weakest link and securing the phone is of little use if there are vulnerabilities in the back-end servers or across the transmission network.

RemoSync security policies are centrally administered. You company’s IT department sets and enforces the level of security you deem necessary to protect your data. Individual users cannot override the security protocols.

And RemoSync security is standards based. In designing the application, Remoba has made maximum use of existing security standards and technologies, like SSL and Microsoft Exchange security features. Not only does this ensure that email and data transmitted and stored by RemoSync is at least as secure as that sent by your other applications, but it also minimizes the cost of security since your IT managers do not need to learn new protocols and systems.

RemoSync’s security features are all designed to fulfill these principles. The features include:

• Firewall Integrity

• SSL Data Encryption

• No Third-Party Servers or Proxies

• Security PIN

• Data Wipe

• Inactivity time out

Back-end Security

RemoSync’s security starts with your company’s Microsoft Exchange server and licensed Exchange ActiveSync technology. The phone makes a direct and secure connection with your Exchange server when transmitting email and synchronizing data. RemoSync operates with your current firewall and security infrastructure to maintain this security.

Your IT manager establishes and enforces security policies for the mobile devices, centralizing control over security. Your IT manager uses Exchange’s Mobile Policy Settings to set the level of information security that your company needs, maintaining consistency with email security on the rest of your network. And because RemoSync uses ActiveSync security protocols, there is no additional burden of learning new software or systems.

Network Security

It is also essential to secure the data as it is transmitted over the network. Since you don’t know who might be able to sniff the data on the network or what servers the data will pass through, encryption is the key factor. To ensure security, your data must be encrypted continuously as it passes across the network.

RemoSync uses the industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol when transmitting over the network, establishing a direct and encrypted connection between the phone and your Exchange server to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery.

Furthermore, RemoSync doesn’t use third-party servers, proxies, or pass-throughs. The unencrypted data exists only on your own systems and under your control. Some other mobile email providers use proxy servers, requiring you to trust that the provider will keep your information confidential and that their security protocols are up to the task. With RemoSync, this is not a concern; no one will have access to the unencrypted data except you; security remains in your hands.

Handset Security

And of course, the mobile device itself must be secure. It must have measures to prevent unauthorized access and to erase sensitive data if the phone is lost or stolen. Furthermore, the phone must be resistant to hacking attempts.

RemoSync uses a security PIN to prevent unauthorized access to the phone. When setting up RemoSync on your device, you will be asked to choose a PIN. The number of characters and complexity of the PIN (whether both alphabetic and numeric characters are required) is set by your IT manager as part of the Exchange Mobile Policy Settings. The IT manager also specifies how often the PIN must be entered, either daily or each time the RemoSync application is opened on the phone.

In case an unauthorized person gains access to the phone while the RemoSync application is running, RemoSync has an inactivity timeout feature and turns itself off after a period when it hasn’t been used. The length of this period is also set by your IT manager. After timing out, you need to reenter your PIN when restarting RemoSync.

If you enter the wrong PIN a number of times (again, the number of times is specified by your IT manager), RemoSync automatically initiates a local data wipe, erasing all the email, calendar, and contacts data on the phone. Data for other applications on the phone is unaffected. This prevents unauthorized access to your company’s data in case your phone is lost or stolen. And if you do this accidentally, the data is not permanently lost since it still exists on the Exchange server. All you need do is reestablish the connection to the server and initiate a full synchronization.

Your IT manager can also initiate a remote data wipe if you report the phone lost or stolen. The next time the phone contacts the server, the data wipe is initiated and further communication with the server is denied.

Finally, most RemoSync-capable phones do not use a Wi-Fi connection like most high-end smart phones and PDAs. While Wi-Fi can be very convenient, because it is continuously broadcasting a radio signal it introduces a host of security vulnerabilities, including opening the mobile device to directed attacks by hackers. You can eliminate these vulnerabilities by allowing only phones that are not Wi-Fi capable to connect to your network.

Security that is second to none