Mobile BYOD sandbox tech gets Defence security tick

Government organisations wanting to manage bring your own device (BYOD) rollouts using 'sandbox' security technology have a new option after Good Technology's Good for Enterprise (GFE) received Defence Signals Directorate Cryptographic Evaluation (DCE) certification.

GFE's presence on the Evaluated Products List, of devices and environments that have been tested and approved for secure government use, makes it a tool of choice for other government agencies concerned about maintaining the integrity and security of their information.

The current certification provides EAL4+ recognition for GFE, which is the first mobile-container technology to sit on the list. It joins the likes of Apple's iOS and Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5, and the BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system  – which was approved in a pre-release coup that helped the upstart platform make its case for government takeup.

Designed to provide a highly-protected workspace to which access can be tightly controlled and information protected, GFE supports iOS, Android and Windows Mobile devices. However, the DSD certification only extends to iOS devices at this point – allowing iPhones and iPads running GFE to access and store information classified at up to PROTECTED level.

The need to quickly certify mobile enablement tools has not been lost on the DSD, which continually updates its security advice to provide relevant guidance for government agencies.

“DSD’s certification of Good Technology’s secure container enables Government departments to unleash far more power and productivity from iOS devices without compromising on cyber security,” said Chris Roberts, vice president of world-wide public sector with Good Technology, in a statement.  “The key requirement for public sector organisations should be to minimise risk of data being compromised, such as ‘leaking’ from devices or networks.”

An early user of GFE is the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, which has deployed GFE's encrypted container technology and found that it minimises ICT support overheads while maintaining an adequate security boundary around the government information.

“As a Commonwealth government department we have a strong requirement to ensure that we adequately protect and secure government information,” said department CIO Al Blake in a statement. "The deployment has been an overwhelming success and has significantly increased staff connectivity and workplace flexibility."

“As we developed our mobile device management strategy," he continued, "it became clear that, whilst many solutions would manage the fine detail of the device for us, we would face an increasing administrative and support burden in deploying and managing additional devices."

"Whilst BYOD was the obvious solution to that overhead, it would not be possible without clear separation between the government and personal data. The use of a secure container solution allows us to protect against the risk of data leakage that can come from using consumer devices and cloud applications in a government context.” – David Braue

Related story: DSD: Security defenders at the gateway