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MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

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Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#81

Post by dredge »

tomjen3 wrote: post #28
dablya wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't connect personal devices to corporate exchange?

Look I have a degree in Computer Science, I wrote software to send the strings necessary to use IPOP, heck I even memorized the RFC number (1939). And in all this time, never did I once see anything on that protocol that could do anything more than download mail and delete the mail you had in your account. So I hear about Exchange and figure "oh just another protocol MS came up with, properly has extensions for calen…

Exactly. Everyone defending this feature seems to miss that point entirely. If I set up my work email on my iPhone and was offered the following options:

  POP3
  IMAP
  Exchange
What would I choose? With those options, one has more "features" and push email, but also allows my company to wipe my phone without asking me. This is not communicated to me through the UI.

I think it would significantly affect my decision over which to use if that information was presented to me.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#82

Post by arethuza »

Maybe it's because I've had a reasonable amount of exposure to the security measures taken by large companies (and the associated unpleasant legal measures that can be taken) but I follow these rules:

- No corporate data on personal devices (not even email)

- I expect to be given a work smartphone

- I use my own phone and iPad for personal stuff

- Assume that anything you do through a device attached in any way (even a VPN) to a corporate network may have everything you do monitored

Of course, these rules apply mostly when you are working for a large company, but even when you are in a startup you occasionally may have to work at a client site - and often these are large corporates.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#84

Post by bruceboughton »

hoop wrote: post #56
tptacek wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that's not the real problem. The transmission of sensitive information through corporate email is commonplace. Formally-classified protected information like HIPAA PI or payment card data shouldn't, of course, be emailed, but information that can be traced back to PI is sent routinely. Regardless of whether it should or shouldn't happen, IT controls people have to assume it will. The contract for syncing with a c…

> The contract for syncing with a corporate Exchange server, in many places, simply requires you to allow your phone to be wiped. > If you don't like it, don't sync with your company's Exchange server. What's so hard about that? The problem that the posts points out is that there's no warning about this "contract" whatsoever. No matter what mobile device I've ever used, I have never, ever had a dialog tell me that by…

>> Additionally, we're talking about a lack of separation between two entities' data (personal & company-owned data).

Yes, but this lack of separation is caused by the employee choosing to sync their work email with their personal device.

Unless the employer requires this, then it's entirely the employees fault.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#85

Post by v21 »

Lazlo_Nibble wrote: post #76
dtsingletary wrote: post #75

One point not being made here is that nearly every wireless carrier requires you to add an Enterprise Data Plan to your service in order to use an Exchange connector. AT&T requires this with the iPhone. Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. all require it for the Blackberry. I haven't heard of a single device/provider that doesn't require an elevated service level to allow for enterprise mail access. So there's a security by obscu…

Ugh--sorry for the inadvertent downvote. My bad.

I upvoted to cancel you out.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#86

Post by mseebach »

tptacek wrote: post #55
mseebach wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, not really. If using an un-approved device on the company exchange compromises corporate security, you need to either lecture me, take "disciplinary action", or both. Nuking my iPhone from orbit is neither.

You leave your phone in a bar. You tell your IT team about it the next day. You're holding out hope that it'll get turned in. Meanwhile, god only knows what's on it and who's got it. Sure, you're fired and all, but meanwhile: you handed a bunch of sensitive data out to the world, and firing you doesn't solve that problem. Should you be told that this is the policy? Of course. But what's the rest of the complaint here…

I don't have a problem with them wiping my phone if I leave it in a bar, that's what the feature is for.

I have a problem with them, having on their screen a message saying "User X connected an unapproved device to Exchange", choosing to clicking "wipe", knowing they might destroy my personal stuff, instead of writing an e-mail telling me to get off the Exchange within 24 hours, and don't ever do it again, or face a remote wipe.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#87

Post by CallumJ »

mike-cardwell wrote: post #83
avar wrote: post #14

So to connect to an Exchange server in iOS, Android or WebOS you have to give the server root on your phone? What sort of crazy security policy is that?

Just use IMAP instead. There's no remote wipe protocol in IMAP.

That's if the Exchange server hasn't been configured to ONLY allow ActiveSync connections.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#88

Post by pclark »

Niten wrote: post #13

This is one of the reasons I use a third-party app (NitroDesk TouchDown) for reading Exchange mail on my Android phone. If someone hits "remote wipe" it'll only delete your Exchange data, the rest of your phone remains untouched. http://groups.google.com/group/nitrodesk/browse_thread/threa... The app doesn't have permission to wipe the entire phone even if it wanted to.

Can you store email/attachments/other information outside of the application? If so that application is a massive security risk.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#89

Post by furyg3 »

pclark wrote: post #88
Niten wrote: post #13

This is one of the reasons I use a third-party app (NitroDesk TouchDown) for reading Exchange mail on my Android phone. If someone hits "remote wipe" it'll only delete your Exchange data, the rest of your phone remains untouched. http://groups.google.com/group/nitrodesk/browse_thread/threa... The app doesn't have permission to wipe the entire phone even if it wanted to.

Can you store email/attachments/other information outside of the application? If so that application is a massive security risk.

This is crazy talk.

If it's a major security risk, don't sync it to someone's pocket. By syncing it to someone's pocket... it's out. Especially if it's on their personal phone, you can't control what they (or an attacker) will do.

Either that's an acceptable convenience / risk tradeoff, or it's not. If it's not, you need to focus your efforts on tagging confidential data and keeping it inside the "walls" of your organization... but that's not a technology problem, it's a people problem.

Re: MS Exchange “remote wipe” is a terrible, terrible bug

#90

Post by pclark »

furyg3 wrote: post #89
pclark wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you store email/attachments/other information outside of the application? If so that application is a massive security risk.

This is crazy talk. If it's a major security risk, don't sync it to someone's pocket. By syncing it to someone's pocket... it's out. Especially if it's on their personal phone, you can't control what they (or an attacker) will do. Either that's an acceptable convenience / risk tradeoff, or it's not. If it's not, you need to focus your efforts on tagging confidential data and keeping it inside the "walls" of your orga…

syncing to someones pocket is fine if you can remote wipe it
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