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Stolen WinMo 6.5 Phone A Great Case Study For Mobile Security

Last week during Mobile World Congress, a prototype HTC phone with an early build of Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 was lifted from Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo. In response, Microsoft wiped the device remotely. This example proves why mobile security needs to be taken seriously.

The story was widely reported across the blogosphere at the end of the Mobile World Congress show. Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo was at the event and performed a demonstration using an unreleased HTC Touch Diamond handset. Afterward, it was picked from his pocket. No one knows if the thieves knew what they were stealing, but someone made off with it.

What exactly could be at stake on a demo product? Plenty. If Trujillo had stored any personal or business information on that device, the thief could have access to highly sensitive e-mails and/or documents. Trujillo is the CEO of one of Australia's largest wireless providers. Having access to his in-box should be considered a major security breach. Aside from those obvious risks, there was "secret" product information stored on the device as well.

In response, Microsoft took swift action to make sure the device was secured.

APC reports, "We spoke to a senior Microsoft staffer on condition of anonymity and they revealed that, other than the theft of a handset, the entire operating system and all the user data on the handset were remotely erased as soon as the theft was reported."

That's exactly as it should be, and how every enterprise should be protecting its data. With the availability of mobile security products, there's no excuse to leave your enterprise exposed if a similar fate were to befall your CEO.

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