Securing Apple iPads for Corporate Use: Tips and Best Practices

Apple iPads are becoming popular for corporate use as they offer portability, flexibility, and functionality. However, they also raise concerns about security. Fortunately, the iOS 4.2 from Apple comes with features to protect iPads, making them suitable for corporate use with the right security measures in place.

One of the top additions is the ability to encrypt stored emails and attachments on the devices, which keeps data encrypted even if the phone is jailbroken or compromised in a side-channel attack. Mobile device management APIs also assist third-party applications that can lock or delete compromised iPads. Additionally, corporate security policies can be installed with these APIs.

While Apple does not have an administration platform for business use, third-party vendors like Mobile Iron, Odyssey, and Tangoe have access to Apple’s APIs to create tools suitable for enterprise use.

The iOS 4.2 also provides support for SSL VPNs, IPSec VPNs, and WPA2 wireless security, making remote access sessions secure.

To ensure maximum security, businesses should follow the best practices recommended by security analyst Andrew Jaquith, which include encrypting email sessions, wiping lost or stolen devices clean, having a strong entry code, setting an automatic lockout period, setting a maximum number of failed login attempts, signing configuration profiles and protecting them with passwords, and having an automatic refresh policy.

For companies with stricter requirements, Jaquith suggests using hardware encryption, increasing the required access code strength, and implementing certificate-based authentication.

Although iPads are secure for corporate use, they might not meet all security requirements. For example, they do not support good card readers or text message archiving.