OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—Sprint Nextel Corp. introduced a new offering for business customers, promising them end-to-end mobile security that can support devices from multiple carriers running multiple operating systems.
The Sprint Mobile Security service allows customers to choose from three different types of passwords and enforces the use of a password. It also scans for, identifies and removes viruses and worms that can infect devices, and gives companies control over what applications are used on the devices. The service allows for over-the-air updates, and searches for applications that are allowed by company policy. Companies can update their devices—and can delete unauthorized programs—automatically. Companies also can choose to encrypt individual files or entire devices for security.
“There really isn’t an offer out there that’s comparable from the traditional carriers,” said Barry Tishgart, director of marketing for Sprint Business Solutions. “The great value is, it’s all put together for you.”
The service also includes a “kill pill” option that allows a system administrator to remotely lock data or permanently disable a device. According to Sprint Nextel, the laptop “dead man’s switch” involves disabling the ability to boot, disabling the pre-boot authentication and deleting the disk encryption key so there is no way to decrypt the device.
The service supports more than 50 phones, including those running the Palm OS or the Microsoft Corp. Windows Mobile platform, as well as laptops running Windows or Linux operating systems.
