Mobile security company, Sophos, today announced the availability of additional security and device management capabilities for the Android mobile platform.
Sophos Cloud now features Android support, delivering one central and hosted console for managing both desktops and mobile devices. Designed as a centralised enterprise mobility management solution, it includes features like remote lock, remote wipe, password reset, theft protection, Wi-Fi configuration and Microsoft Exchange setup help.
Sophos Mobile Security brings a new antivirus engine and Web protection technology to the Android platform. In addition, Sophos announced the Sophos Anti-Malware SDK for Android, which features the core Sophos antivirus engine.
“These simple-to-deploy, yet powerful solutions deliver mobile security for businesses of any size,” the company said in a statement. “IT professionals can now allow employees to take advantage of all that the Android platform has to offer without putting sensitive data at risk.”
Sophos cited Nielsen figures that suggest mobile users are now spending 30 more hours per month on mobile devices than on their laptops. SophosLabs has discovered that cyber criminals are “taking notice” of the figures. Sophos’ research arm has identified “over 1m new and unique pieces of Android malware and potentially unwanted applications (PUAs)” since the beginning of 2014.
Sophos claims Android malware has grown 1,800% over the last two years and approximately 2bn mobile phones and tablets will be shipped this year, 85% of which will be Android devices. And 75% of apps on those devices will fail basic security tests, according to Sophos.
“Well over half of all mobile apps fail basic security measures, and these sobering figures are on the rise,” said Dan Schiappa, senior vice president and general manager, end user protection group, Sophos. “Every day the risk is growing, and we’re proud to offer the most comprehensive mobile protection for businesses to keep confidential information out of the wrong hands.”
