Network World: Should Apple secure its iPods?

Few corporation are likely toban iPods in the work , but whetherAppleand other manufacturers of MP3 thespian shoulder some responsibility to supply security to their gadget — and how in force that security would be — is a growing argumentation .

Apple did n’t return multiple inquiries ask about its position on iPod security , but lot of others are talking about what the company should or should not do to prevent its widely popular music player from being used as a datum - transfer of training equipment for stealing sensitive collective entropy . While this unintended economic consumption of the iPod is not exclusive to Apple ’s gimmick — employee with malicious intent could slip datum using any MP3 player , or any removable medium for that matter — Apple has sold more than 100 million iPods , making it the obvious choice .

“ My initial reaction was that Apple should have as much responsibleness as SanDisk has for securing its USB thumb drives , ” says Kurt Tappe , Apple certified engineer with JP Morgan Chase , in an einsteinium - mail . “ But then I remembered that iPods do not come out of their merchant marine containers with the ability to be used as information drive . The exploiter must explicitly turn that function on in iTunes . To that destruction , it seems to me that Apple has already gone one step beyond other drive manufacturers . ”

An panoptic search of theiPod and iTunes sectionsof Apple ’s Web web site turn over up no information about set the machine for data transfer , but also did not discourage against the potentiality for abuse when iPod are coiffe as such .

Others say Apple may not be responsible for procure its equipment beyond the basic lock function that it come with , but offering such features could n’t hurt . This could become especially crucial as corporate IT departments lead off to debate buy other Apple product , such asMac desktops and servers , in assist Apple build confidence among security measure - conscious enterprises .

“ I would n’t put this responsibility on [ Apple ] as required ; I would favor to see Apple proffer it as an add - on lineament and rent the market prescribe its usefulness ” wrote Louis Tinto , risk of infection manager and theater director of technology danger appraisal with a large financial - services society , in an e - mail . He stresses that educate employee about corporate policies regarding economic consumption of such devices and having workers on a regular basis bear witness to their discernment of such policies is the best first dance step to take in protecting against data theft via iPods .

Another important considerateness for Apple is that some enterprises are commence to apply iPods as collective devices and will desire to incorporate them into their surety plans , so offering such protection could become a make - or - break issue for selling into these account .

fit in to a press expiration issue by NextSentry , which makes desktop software that foreclose unauthorised copying of information to obliterable sensitive and which issued the warning of iPods in the work , these devices have been purchased by the K by fabricate caller , financial - services firms and healthcare suppliers as a mean value to train , educate and inform their employees .

While he trust Apple should n’t be held responsible for how an iPod is used , one analyst says certificate should be an element of these types of equipment .

“ Smart , portable devices need protection from malware and misuse just as much as workstation , in particular as they are rely to perform vital study - interrelate functions , ” says Trent Henry , a senior Burton Group psychoanalyst , in an e - mail exchange . “ Even the iPod can hold contacts as part of the operating system lineament . That ’s sensitive data that needs protection . ”

Still others say it ’s not Apple ’s office to provide enterprise - level protection with a consumer gadget . give the product ’s popularity in its current unsecured state , the fellowship may not need to .

“ There ’s no means Apple can forestall the specific security need of every Fortune 1000 caller out there , ” says Tom Bennett , vice president of selling with Oakley Networks , Almighty of datum - escape bar engineering science .

“ I do n’t trust it is Apple ’s responsibility to ensure iPod are used for in force any more than I believe it is Honda ’s obligation to ensure a Civic is never used as a getaway motorcar , ” accord Brent Smithurst , vice president of expert mathematical operation withFaronics , which make terminus - security software for Macs to foreclose unauthorized data conveyance to gadget . Smithurst wrote about the issue in ablog post last hebdomad . “ In both cases , the product is only a means of potentially enable a character of behaviour , but is not intended to further that behaviour . ”