Yael Macias, Threat Prevention Product Marketing Manager

Two things are clear to us from Gartner’s recent publication of its 2019 Market Guide for Mobile Threat Defense (MTD): mobile threats to the enterprise are on the rise, and that there is a growing number of use cases that MTD solutions address that UEM (MDM) solutions cannot.

We strongly believe that the report provides valuable insights about the direction of the mobile security market, common use cases for MTD solutions, and a snapshot of representative vendors.

Check Point invites you to download your complimentary copy of the report. Here are some of our key takeaways:

1. Mobile malware is on the rise

“In 2018, mobile attacks almost doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 116.5 million, with a surge in unique users,” write Dionisio Zumerle and Rob Smith, the report’s authors. According to Gartner, “a decrease in unique malware samples implies that attackers are delivering more efficient mobile malware.”

2. Unified Endpoint Management solutions (UEMs) do not address the mobile security use case, MTDs do

UEM solutions are used for managing mobile devices, mostly in corporate-owned scenarios. On the other hand, MTDs provide mobile protection by preventing, detecting and remediating sophisticated cyberattacks, using a variety of techniques on the device, network and application level.

Gartner’s recommendation is to “integrate the MTD solution with the incumbent UEM tool”. The MTD solution will identify and categorize device risk of devices and suggest mitigation measures for the UEM to implement.

3. MTDs continue to add use cases that can reduce enterprise risk

The most frequent use case addresses the need for an all-around mobile security solution, in which security-aware enterprises use MTD solutions as a security add-on to their UEMs. Nonetheless, there are some emerging use cases:

  • Gartner states that “there is evidence that business users increasingly fall victim to phishing on mobile devices.” Due to the small screen of mobile devices, it becomes harder to discern phishing links from legitimate ones. (Read more: SandBlast Mobile’s Zero-Phishing feature inspects and blocks phishing attempts on mobile, even new, unknown phishing links.)
  • Mobile Endpoint Detection and Response solutions (EDR), revolving around endpoint visibility. The constant monitoring of the mobile endpoint allows to detect and prevent incoming advanced threats.
  • BYOD scenarios, where managing the devices is less frequent due to objections from users. In this case, MTDs are deployed as a standalone solution to protect the organization’s infrastructure from infected devices.
  • Other frequent use cases include app vetting, where the MTD solution can analyze apps and indicate which ones conflict with corporate policy, and compliance, for organizations looking to address regulation-related matters.

4. Regulated industries should adopt MTD solutions sooner rather than later

According to Gartner, “organizations in high-security verticals, those with large Android device fleets or those in regulated verticals such as finance and healthcare should plan to adopt MTD solutions sooner rather than later”.

The amount of sensitive data on mobile devices and applicable regulations should play a key role in deciding whether to implement a mobile security solution. Nonetheless, most organizations will benefit from maintaining overall security hygiene of the organization thanks to MTD solutions.

SandBlast Mobile provides enterprise-grade mobile security, leveraging Check Point’s unique and market-leading threat intelligence and behavioral engines. Request a demo today to see for yourself!

Gartner Market Guide for Mobile Threat Defense, 2019 , Dionisio Zumerle , Rob Smith , 14 November 2019

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