McAfee to boost mobile security by monitoring third-party apps

McAfee has announced plans to develop a 'multi-prong' approach to mobile security that enhances the company's mobile device management tools by adding services to block malicious activity and monitor third-party applications.

John Dasher, senior director for mobile security at McAfee, told V3 that mobile management tools in their current state are no longer able to contain emerging threats in the mobile space.

"We have come to realise over the past year that the 'mobile management' category is insufficient to provide mobile security," he said.

"We have come to the conclusion that the only way to provide mobile security is to protect the device and the data, and make sure the applications being used are not gathering data."

Dasher explained that McAfee will expand its mobile security portfolio to include remote management and wiping tools, and extend its enterprise security platforms to better handle policies and management for employee devices.

McAfee's other security platforms could also play a role. Dasher suggested that systems such as Global Threat Intelligence could be used to develop services such as reputation-based security for applications.

PC systems are often equipped with little more than a productivity suite and web browser, but mobile devices can have dozens of third-party applications installed from various sources.

"Mobile users are consuming a much higher number of apps than in the desktop world, and there is not as much control over the source of those apps," Dasher said.

"If you think about traditional approaches to viruses and malware, it is not going to scale in the same ways we approach the desktop."