MobileIron MDM and Veracode Sniff Out Risky Apps

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MobileIron and Veracode are setting out to help businesses sniff out suspect apps before they put their data at risk.

The companies announced today that MobileIron is incorporating Veracode’s mobile application reputation capabilities into its mobile device management (MDM) product. The combo will help organizations defend against malicious apps and avoid mobile software that plays it fast and loose with data security as the bring your own device (BYOD) trend gathers steam across the enterprise mobility market.

MobileIron vice president Ojas Rege noted that mobile apps are a big blind spot for enterprises. “The majority of our customers now have BYOD programs in place. These organizations need information about app reputation for apps ‘in the wild’ that users may have downloaded,” he said in a statement.

“Using Veracode to understand how these apps behave and what risks they pose to corporate data will allow our customers to then intelligently create and enforce policies,” added Rege.

Contending that BYOD is opening the door to “BYOA” (bring your own application), the companies warn that “third-party applications installed on mobile devices can gain device permissions, conduct transactions and export data, all without the users’ knowledge or consent.”

Veracode is a provider of cloud-based application security testing services. In October, the firm acquired mobile anti-malware specialist Marvin Mobile Security to safeguard enterprises against a rising tide of malicious apps.

The company performs risk analysis on mobile applications and supplies detailed intelligence. The partnership will allow organizations to impose restrictions on risky apps based on the reputation that they earn via their MobileIron MDM suites.

That’s precisely the point, according to Veracode’s Sam King, executive vice president of Product Strategy and Corporate Development. “Partnering with a leading MDM vendor like MobileIron will result in powerful protection for enterprises and their employees from risky apps that are built in house, bought or downloaded,” she said in company remarks.

“The actionable controls from MobileIron combined with the comprehensive risk ratings and vulnerability information that our suite of mobile solutions provides enterprises will help make BYOD and even BYOA a less risky proposition for enterprises,” concluded King.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.