Avast Virtual Mobile Platform Brings Mobile Enterprise Security to a New Frontier

Powerful platform focuses on securing data, not devices; delivers security-enabled  productivity by protecting company data and workers’ personal  privacy

Avast Software has launched the Avast Virtual Mobile Platform (VMP). The platform is built on top of the iron-clad Virtual Mobile Platform of award-winning mobile enterprise security provider Remotium, which was recently acquired by Avast. Designed specifically to meet the mobile solution needs of modern enterprises, Avast VMP takes a fundamentally different approach from EMM (enterprise mobility management) solutions available today, focusing on securing data rather than devices.

Through ephemeral sessions in which no data footprint is left behind on the device, Avast VMP prevents datajacking, which is the unsanctioned appropriation of data on a mobile handset or computer from the data’s primary owner. The platform delivers reliability and confidence that company information and data remain secure, and that workers’ personal privacy is respected. It includes powerful features that enable users to make and receive encrypted calls to each other and send instant messages without leaving a trace on devices. It also includes a comprehensive policy engine for greater security, flexibility and control over apps, data and users.

A recent Avast survey* on the impact of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) on enterprise security of more than 100 IT professionals, including senior IT executives and managers in security roles, revealed that increased productivity is the main goal of most enterprise mobility programs. They also reported that datajacking  is the greatest security challenge they are facing today. The following are some of the survey highlights:

  • Nearly 80% of companies enable employees to access corporate mobile apps on their own devices
  • 76% of BYOD or enterprise mobility programs’ main objective is increased productivity, followed by improved customer service (54%) and increased revenue (45%)
  • 72% cite datajacking as the greatest security challenge related to enterprise mobility, followed by malware (67%)  and employee compliance (58%)
  • Nearly 50% of businesses provide contractors or other third parties with mobile access to their networks
  • The top three concerns when considering enterprise mobility solutions are employee privacy (55%), ease of deployment/management (53%) and compliance (52%)

“With the use of personal mobile devices now entrenched in the workplace, the Avast Virtual Mobile Platform meets the need for a powerful enterprise-grade mobile security technology that helps workers, IT and business units achieve their productivity goals,” said Sinan Eren, Vice President and General Manager, Avast Mobile Enterprise. “Our leading-edge enterprise mobile technology ensures procedure, policy and bureaucracy don’t get in the way of business productivity and performance.”

Avast VMP users in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services and legal will also benefit greatly from these new features as they enable ultimate security of user-to-user communication. For healthcare, Avast VMP provides instant compliance with HIPAA (HealthInsurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations and enables doctors  to send photos and view medical images without leaving a trace on personal devices. For legal and financial services, users can discuss high-value, confidential transactions without risking information exposure.

“Different spins on Virtual Mobile Infrastructure have emerged over the past few years specifically because of the challenge mobile poses to the shifting of content, applications, data and workflows to smartphones and tablets for which traditional security, productivity and governance schema no longer apply,” said Chris Marsh, Research Director, 451 Research. “Avast’s platform goes further than some by being HIPAA compliant, enabling encrypted calls and IM, along with applications like SharePoint already configured for the platform. As one virtualized infrastructure, it should appeal to businesses struggling with the idea of multiple mobility management technologies and the integration they’d have to do across them.”

 

*The survey was conducted in January 2016, with more than 100 respondents in IT security management roles in a range of industries, including financial services, government, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, retail, technology and telecommunications.