BIG-IP Edge Client v1.0.6 for iOS 7
With all your other iOS 7 updates (if you've made the plunge), if you are running the BIG-IP Edge Client on your iPhone, iPod or iPad, you may have gotten an AppStore alert for an update. If not, I just wanted to let you know that version 1.0.6 of the iOS Edge Client is available at the AppStore with iOS 7 support. Customers who use UDID in their access policies should have users update to this version. The BIG-IP Edge Client application from F5 Networks secures and accelerates mobile device access to enterprise networks and applications using SSL VPN and optimization technologies. Access is provided as part of an enterprise deployment of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager, Edge Gateway, or FirePass SSL-VPN solutions. BIG-IP Edge Client for iOS Features: Provides accelerated mobile access when used with F5 BIG-IP Edge Gateway. Automatically roams between networks to stay connected on the go. Full Layer 3 network access to all your enterprise applications and files. ps Related: Manual: BIG-IP Edge Apps Client Compatibility Matrix BIG-IP Edge Client and BIG-IP Edge Portal for Apple iOS and Android software support policy Release Note: BIG-IP Edge Client for iOS 1.0.6 Advanced Edge Client Installation for Windows–The Mysteries of Windows Installer Revealed F5 BIG-IP Edge Client F5 BIG-IP Edge Portal F5 BIG-IP Edge Client for Android Technorati Tags: f5,big-ip,edge client,ssl-vpn,mobile,smartphone,ios7,apple,iphone,ipad,silva,remote access,security,secure access,apm Connect with Peter: Connect with F5:BIG-IP Edge Client 2.0.2 for Android
Earlier this week F5 released our BIG-IP Edge Client for Android with support for the new Amazon Kindle Fire HD. You can grab it off Amazon instantly for your Android device. By supporting BIG-IP Edge Client on Kindle Fire products, F5 is helping businesses secure personal devices connecting to the corporate network, and helping end users be more productive so it’s perfect for BYOD deployments. The BIG-IP® Edge Client™ for all Android 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich) or later devices secures and accelerates mobile device access to enterprise networks and applications using SSL VPN and optimization technologies. Access is provided as part of an enterprise deployment of F5 BIG-IP® Access Policy Manager™, Edge Gateway™, or FirePass™ SSL-VPN solutions. BIG-IP® Edge Client™ for all Android 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich) Devices Features: Provides accelerated mobile access when used with F5 BIG-IP® Edge Gateway Automatically roams between networks to stay connected on the go Full Layer 3 network access to all your enterprise applications and files Supports multi-factor authentication with client certificate You can use a custom URL scheme to create Edge Client configurations, start and stop Edge Client BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD OR USE THIS APPLICATION YOU MUST AGREE TO THE EULA HERE: http://www.f5.com/apps/android-help-portal/eula.html BEFORE YOU CONTACT F5 SUPPORT, PLEASE SEE: http://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/solutions/public/2000/600/sol2633.html If you have an iOS device, you can get the F5 BIG-IP Edge Client for Apple iOS which supports the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. We are also working on a Windows 8 client which will be ready for the Win8 general availability. ps Resources F5 BIG-IP Edge Client Samsung F5 BIG-IP Edge Client Rooted F5 BIG-IP Edge Client F5 BIG-IP Edge Portal for Apple iOS F5 BIG-IP Edge Client for Apple iOS F5 BIG-IP Edge apps for Android Securing iPhone and iPad Access to Corporate Web Applications – F5 Technical Brief Audio Tech Brief - Secure iPhone Access to Corporate Web Applications iDo Declare: iPhone with BIG-IP Technorati Tags: F5, infrastructure 2.0, integration, cloud connect, Pete Silva, security, business, education,technology, application delivery, ipad, cloud, context-aware,infrastructure 2.0, iPhone, web, internet, security,hardware, audio, whitepaper, apple, iTunesBYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 5: Trust Model
#BYOD or Bring Your Own Device has moved from trend to an permanent fixture in today's corporate IT infrastructure. It is not strictly an IT issue however. Many groups within an organization need to be involved as they grapple with the risk of mixing personal devices with sensitive information. In my opinion, BYOD follows the classic Freedom vs. Control dilemma. The freedom for user to choose and use their desired device of choice verses an organization's responsibility to protect and control access to sensitive resources. While not having all the answers, this mini-series tries to ask many the questions that any organization needs to answer before embarking on a BYOD journey. Enterprises should plan for rather than inherit BYOD. BYOD policies must span the entire organization but serve two purposes - IT and the employees. The policy must serve IT to secure the corporate data and minimize the cost of implementation and enforcement. At the same time, the policy must serve the employees to preserve the native user experience, keep pace with innovation and respect the user's privacy. A sustainable policy should include a clear BOYD plan to employees including standards on the acceptable types and mobile operating systems along with a support policy showing the process of how the device is managed and operated. Some key policy issue areas include: Liability, Device Choice, Economics, User Experience & Privacy and a Trust Model. Today we look at Trust Model. Trust Model Organizations will either have a BYOD policy or forbid the use all together. Two things can happen if not: if personal devices are being blocked, organizations are losing productivity OR the personal devices are accessing the network (with or without an organization's consent) and nothing is being done pertaining to security or compliance. Ensure employees understand what can and cannot be accessed with personal devices along with understanding the risks (both users and IT) associated with such access. While having a written policy is great, it still must be enforced. Define what is ‘Acceptable use.’ According to a recent Ponemon Institute and Websense survey, while 45% do have a corporate use policy, less than half of those actually enforce it. And a recent SANS Mobility BYOD Security Survey, less than 20% are using end point security tools, and out of those, more are using agent-based tools rather than agent-less. According to the survey, 17% say they have stand-alone BYOD security and usage policies; 24% say they have BYOD policies added to their existing policies; 26% say they "sort of" have policies; 3% don't know; and 31% say they do not have any BYOD policies. Over 50% say employee education is one way they secure the devices, and 73% include user education with other security policies. Organizations should ensure procedures are in place (and understood) in cases of an employee leaving the company; what happens when a device is lost or stolen (ramifications of remote wiping a personal device); what types/strength of passwords are required; record retention and destruction; the allowed types of devices; what types of encryption is used. Organizations need to balance the acceptance of consumer-focused Smartphone/tablets with control of those devices to protect their networks. Organizations need to have a complete inventory of employee's personal devices - at least the one’s requesting access. Organizations need the ability to enforce mobile policies and secure the devices. Organizations need to balance the company's security with the employee's privacy like, off-hours browsing activity on a personal device. Whether an organization is prepared or not, BYOD is here. It can potentially be a significant cost savings and productivity boost for organizations but it is not without risk. To reduce the business risk, enterprises need to have a solid BYOD policy that encompasses the entire organization. And it must be enforced. Companies need to understand: • The trust level of a mobile device is dynamic • Identify and assess the risk of personal devices • Assess the value of apps and data • Define remediation options • Notifications • Access control • Quarantine • Selective wipe • Set a tiered policy Part of me feels we’ve been through all this before with personal computer access to the corporate network during the early days of SSL-VPN, and many of the same concepts/controls/methods are still in place today supporting all types of personal devices. Obviously, there are a bunch new risks, threats and challenges with mobile devices but some of the same concepts apply – enforce policy and manage/mitigate risk As organizations move to the BYOD, F5 has the Unified Secure Access Solutions to help. ps Related BYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 1: Liability BYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 2: Device Choice BYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 3: Economics BYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 4: User Experience and Privacy BYOD–The Hottest Trend or Just the Hottest Term FBI warns users of mobile malware Will BYOL Cripple BYOD? Freedom vs. Control What’s in Your Smartphone? Worldwide smartphone user base hits 1 billion SmartTV, Smartphones and Fill-in-the-Blank Employees Evolving (or not) with Our Devices The New Wallet: Is it Dumb to Carry a Smartphone? Bait Phone BIG-IP Edge Client 2.0.2 for Android BIG-IP Edge Client v1.0.4 for iOS New Security Threat at Work: Bring-Your-Own-Network Legal and Technical BYOD Pitfalls Highlighted at RSABYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 2: Device Choice
#BYOD or Bring Your Own Device has moved from trend to an permanent fixture in today's corporate IT infrastructure. It is not strictly an IT issue however. Many groups within an organization need to be involved as they grapple with the risk of mixing personal devices with sensitive information. In my opinion, BYOD follows the classic Freedom vs. Control dilemma. The freedom for user to choose and use their desired device of choice verses an organization's responsibility to protect and control access to sensitive resources. While not having all the answers, this mini-series tries to ask many the questions that any organization needs to answer before embarking on a BYOD journey. Enterprises should plan for rather than inherit BYOD. BYOD policies must span the entire organization but serve two purposes - IT and the employees. The policy must serve IT to secure the corporate data and minimize the cost of implementation and enforcement. At the same time, the policy must serve the employees to preserve the native user experience, keep pace with innovation and respect the user's privacy. A sustainable policy should include a clear BOYD plan to employees including standards on the acceptable types and mobile operating systems along with a support policy showing the process of how the device is managed and operated. Some key policy issue areas include: Liability, Device choice, Economics, User Experience & Privacy and a trust Model. Today we look at Device Choice. Device Choice People have become very attached to their mobile devices. They customize and personalize and it's always with them, to the point of even falling asleep with the device. So ultimately, personal preference or the 'consumerization of IT' notion is one of the primary drivers for BYOD. Organizations need to understand, what devices employees prefer and what devices do employees already own. That would could dictate what types of devices might request access. Once organizations get a grasp on potential devices, they then need to understand each device's security posture. About 10 years ago, RIM was the first technology that really brought the Smartphone into the workplace. It was designed to address the enterprise's needs and for years was the Gold Standard for Enterprise Mobility. Management control was integrated with the device; client certificate authentication was supported; Active Directory/LDAP servers were not exposed to the external internet; the provisioning was simple and secure; organizations could manage both Internet access and intranet access, and IT had end point control. When Apple's iPhone first hit the market, it was purely a consumer device for personal use and was not business centric, like the BlackBerry. Initially, the iPhone did not have many of the features necessary to be part of the corporate environment. It was not a business capable device. It did not support applications like Exchange, which is deployed in many organizations and is critical to a user's day-to-day activities. Over time, the iPhone has become a truly business capable device with additional mechanisms to protect end users. Android, very popular with consumers, also offers numerous business apps but is susceptible to malware. Device selection is also critical to the end user experience. Surveys show that workers are actually more productive when they can use their personal smartphone for work. Productivity increases since we prefer to use our own device. In addition, since many people like to have their device with them all the time, many will answer emails or do work during non-work hours. A recent survey indicated that 80% of Americans work an extra 30 hours a month on their own time with BYOD. But we are much happier. A few blogs ago, I wrote about Good Technology’s BYOD survey, found that organizations are jumping on the phenomenon since they see real ROI from encouraging BYOD. The ability to keep employees connected (to information) day and night can ultimately lead to increased productivity and better customer service. They also found that two of the most highly regulated industries - financial services and health care - are most likely to support BYOD. This shows that the security issues IT folks often raise as objections are manageable and there's major value in supporting BYOD. Another ROI discovered through the survey is that since employees are using their own devices, half of Good’s customers don't pay anything for the employees' BYOD devices – essentially, according to Good, getting employees to pay for the productivity boost at work. As part of the BYOD Policy the Device Choice Checklist, while not inclusive, should: · Survey employees about their preferences and current devices · Define a baseline of acceptable security and supportability features · Do homework: Read up on hardware, OS, and regional variances · Develop a certification program for future devices · Work with Human Resources on clear communication to employees about which devices are allowed–or not–and why ps Related BYOD Policies – More than an IT Issue Part 1: Liability BYOD–The Hottest Trend or Just the Hottest Term FBI warns users of mobile malware Will BYOL Cripple BYOD? Freedom vs. Control What’s in Your Smartphone? SmartTV, Smartphones and Fill-in-the-Blank Employees Evolving (or not) with Our Devices The New Wallet: Is it Dumb to Carry a Smartphone? Bait Phone BIG-IP Edge Client 2.0.2 for Android BIG-IP Edge Client v1.0.4 for iOS New Security Threat at Work: Bring-Your-Own-Network Legal and Technical BYOD Pitfalls Highlighted at RSAMultiscreen Multitasking
Talk about killing two birds with one stone - according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project report, more Americans on their phones while watching TV. About half of U.S. mobile phone owners use their devices while watching TV, a new study suggests. While most (38%) are clicking away as a commercial filler, many are enhancing their viewing experience by interacting along with the program. About 23% of cellphone users exchange text messages with their friends about the same show they are simultaneously watching on TV; around 20% of them visit websites mentioned on TV; 22% used their phone to check whether something they heard on television was true; 11% of cellphone owners use their devices to read what others are writing online about a particular television program; another 11% posts comments on online boards using their cellphones; and 6% used their phone to vote for a reality show contestant. Both men and women equally are glued to their smartphone while watching TV with the 18-24 age bracket leading the way (81%), followed by the 25-34 group (72%). The massive growth of smartphones and how we use them is infiltrating every aspect of our lives. The most basic task of making a phone call seems miniscule compared to the many other things we do with smartphones. Our personal devices are also becoming the primary mobile device we use for work with all the BYOD initiates being implemented. It’s also clear that with all the other tasks and activities we use our smartphones for, providing a solid BYOD policy within an organization is important to keeping corporate resources safe. Not sure how I turned the results of a TV survey into a BYOD challenge but there you have it. And somehow the famous words of Homer Simpson now have much more meaning, ‘Then we figured out we could park them in front of the TV. That's how I was raised, and I turned out TV.’ ps References: More Americans on their phones while watching TV Cellphone usage, television watching go hand in hand The Rise of the “Connected Viewer” More Americans Are Using Mobile Phones While Watching TV Americans juggle phones, TV at same time: survey Man Watches 252 Netflix Movies in a Month, Gets Invited to Netflix HQ Will BYOL Cripple BYOD? What’s in Your Smartphone? Freedom vs. Control BYOD–The Hottest Trend or Just the Hottest Term Here's Help for Mobile Security Cellphone Surveillance Explodes
Speed Matters, but Dev Speed or App Speed?
In running, speed matters. But how the speed matters is very important, and what type of running is your forte’ should determine what you are involved in. As a teen, I was never a very good sprinter. Just didn’t get up to speed fast enough, and was consistently overcome by more nimble opponents. But growing up on a beach was perfect conditioning for cross country track. Running five miles in beach sand that gave way underfoot and drained your energy much faster than it allowed you to move forward was solid practice for running through the woods mile after mile. And I wasn’t a bad runner – not a world champion to be sure – but I won more often than I lost when the “track” was ten or fifteen miles through the woods. The same is true of mobile apps, though most organizations don’t seem to realize it yet. There are two types of mobile apps – those that are developed for sprinting, by getting them to market rapidly, and those that are developed for the long haul, by implementing solutions based around the platform in question. By “platform” in this case, I mean the core notions of “mobile” apps – wireless, limited resources, touch interfaces, and generally different use cases than a laptop or desktop machine. It is certainly a more rapid go-to-market plan to have an outsourcer of some kind dump your existing HTML into an “app” or develop a little HTML5 and wrap it in an “app”, but I would argue that the goals of such an endeavor are short term. Much like sprinting, you’ll get there quickly, but then the race is over. How the judges (customers in this case) gauge the result is much more important. There are three basic bits to judging in mobile apps – ease of use, which is usually pretty good in a wrapped HTML or “hybrid” app; security, which is usually pretty horrendous in a hybrid app; and performance, which is usually pretty horrendous in a hybrid app. The security bit could be fixed with some serious security folks looking over the resultant application, but the performance issue is not so simple. You see, performance of a hybrid application is a simple equation… Speed of original web content + overhead of a cell phone + overhead of the app wrapper around the HTML. Sure, you’ll get faster development time wrapping HTML pages in an app, but you’ll get worse long-term performance. Kind of the same issue you get when a sprinter tries to run cross country. They rock for the first while, but burn out before the cross country racers are up to speed. You can use tools like our Application Delivery Optimization (ADO) engine to make the wrapped app perform better, but that’s not a panacea. Longer term it will be necessary to develop a more targeted, comprehensive solution. Because when you need a little bit of data and could wrap display functionality around it on the client side, transferring that display functionality and then trying to make it work in a client is pure overhead. Overhead that must be transmitted on a slower network over what is increasingly a pay-as-you-go bandwidth model. Even if the application somehow performs adequately, apps that are bandwidth hogs are not going to be repaid with joy as increasing numbers of carriers drop unlimited bandwidth plans. So before you shell out the money for an intermediate step, stop and consider your needs. Enterprises are being beaten about the head and shoulders with claims that if you don’t have a mobile app, you’re doomed. Think really carefully before you take the chicken-little mentality to heart. Are your customers demanding an app? If so are they demanding it right this instant? if so, perhaps a hybrid app is a good option, if you’re willing to spend whatever it costs to get it developed only to rewrite the app native in six or ten months. Take a look at the Play store or the Apple store, and you’ll see that just throwing an app out there is not enough. You need to develop a method to let your customers know it’s available, and it has to offer them… Something. If you can’t clearly define both of those requirements, then you can’t clearly define what you need, and should take a deep breath while considering your options. Let’s say you have a web-based calculator for mortgage interest rates. It is calling web services to do the interest rate calculations. For not much more development time, it is possible to build a very sweet version of the same calculator in native mode for either iPhones or Android (depending upon your platform priorities, could be either), with a larger up-front investment but less long-term investment by re-using those web services calls from within the mobile app. A little more money now, and no need to rewrite for better performance or targeting Mobile in the future? Take the little extra hit now and do it right. There are plenty of apps out there, and unless you can prove you’re losing money every day over lack of a mobile app, no one will notice that your application came out a month or two later – but they will notice how cool it is. While we’re on the topic, I hate to burst any bubbles, but every single website doesn’t need a dedicated app. We have to get over the hype bit and get to reality. Most people do not want 50 reader apps on their phone, each one just a simple hybrid shell to allow easier reading of a single website. They just don’t. So consider whether you even need an app. Seriously. If the purpose of your app is to present your website in a different format, well news flash, all mobile devices have this nifty little tool called a web browser that’s pretty good at presenting your website. Of course, when you do deploy apps, or even before you do, consider F5’s ADO and security products. They do a lot with mobile that is specific to the mobile world. App development is no simple task, and good app development, like all good development, will cost you money. Make the right choices, drive the best app you can out to your customers, because they’re not very forgiving of slow or buggy apps, and they’re completely unforgiving about apps that mess up their mobile devices. And maybe one day soon, if we’re lucky, we’ll have a development toolkit that works well and delivers something like this: Related Articles and Blogs F5 Solutions for VMware View Mobile Secure Desktop Drama in the Cloud: Coming to a Security Theatre Near You Scary App Games. SSL without benefit. Will BYOL Cripple BYOD? Four Best Practices for Reducing Risk in the Cloud Birds on a Wire(less) 22 Beginner Travel Tips Dreaming of Work 20 Lines or Less #59: SSL Re-encryption, Mobile Browsing, and iFiles Scaling Web Security Operations with DAST and One-Click Virtual Patching BIG-IP Edge Client v1.0.4 for iOSBIG-IP Edge Client v1.0.4 for iOS
If you are running the BIG-IP Edge Client on your iPhone, iPod or iPad, you may have gotten an AppStore alert for an update. If not, I just wanted to let you know that version 1.0.4 of the iOS Edge Client is available at the AppStore. The main updates in v1.0.4: IPv6 Support Localization New iPad Retina Graphics The BIG-IP Edge Client application from F5 Networks secures and accelerates mobile device access to enterprise networks and applications using SSL VPN and optimization technologies. Access is provided as part of an enterprise deployment of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager, Edge Gateway, or FirePass SSL-VPN solutions. BIG-IP Edge Client for iOS Features: Provides accelerated mobile access when used with F5 BIG-IP Edge Gateway. Automatically roams between networks to stay connected on the go. Full Layer 3 network access to all your enterprise applications and files. I updated mine today without a problem. psInvasion of Privacy - Mobile App Infographic Style
Couple blogs/weeks ago, I posted What’s in Your Smartphone? covering the recent Nielsen report, State of the Appnation – A Year of Change and Growth in U.S. Smartphones. According to the study, 70% (last year) and 73% (this year) expressed concern over personal data collection and 55% were cautious about sharing location info via smartphone apps so, obviously, it is important that users are aware of the risks they face when downloading and using apps. So it is perfect timing that I came across Veracode’s infographic showing real world cases to outline the threat to user privacy posed by mobile apps. Infographic by Veracode Application Security Fascinating and scary at the same time. ps References: How Mobile Apps are Invading Your Privacy Infographic Infographic: How Mobile Apps Invade Your Privacy State of the Appnation – A Year of Change and Growth in U.S. Smartphones Nielsen: 1 in 2 own a smartphone, average 41 apps Freedom vs. Control BYOD–The Hottest Trend or Just the Hottest Term Hey You, Get Off-ah My Cloud! Evolving (or not) with Our Devices The New Wallet: Is it Dumb to Carry a Smartphone? BYOD Is Driving IT ‘Crazy,’ Gartner Says Consumerization trend driving IT shops 'crazy,' Gartner analyst saysWhat’s in Your Smartphone?
Typical smartphone owners have an average of 41 apps per device, 9 more than they had last year according to the recent Nielsen report, State of the Appnation – A Year of Change and Growth in U.S. Smartphones. Also last year, less than 40% of mobile subscribers in the U.S. had smartphones and this year, it’s at 50% and growing. Android and iOS users fuel the smartphone app drive with 88% downloading an app within the last month. They also found that as people download more apps, they are also spending more time with them (10% more), rather than using their mobile Web browsers for such activities. The Top Five Apps are Facebook, YouTube, Android Market, Google Search, and Gmail, no change from last year. More and more of our info is being saved on and collected by these smartphones and privacy is a big worry. Last year 70% and this year 73% expressed concern over personal data collection and 55% were cautious about sharing location info via smartphone apps. These concerns will only grow as more organizations adopt BYOD policies. While users are concerned for their security, according to Gartner, IT shops won't be able to provide the security necessary to protect company data. With so many entry points, data leakage outside the enterprise is a real risk. Gartner advises that IT shops managing mobile devices consider some mix of tiered support: Platform, Appliance and Concierge. With platform support, IT offers full PC-like support for a device and the device is chosen by IT, and will be used typically in vertical applications. With appliance-level support, IT supports a narrow set of applications on a mobile device, including server-based and Web-based application support on a wider set of pre-approved devices. Local applications are not supported. With concierge-level support, IT provides hands-on support, mainly to knowledge workers, for non-supported devices or non-supported apps on a supported device. The costs for support, which can be huge, are charged back to the users under this approach. ps References: State of the Appnation – A Year of Change and Growth in U.S. Smartphones Nielsen: 1 in 2 own a smartphone, average 41 apps Freedom vs. Control BYOD–The Hottest Trend or Just the Hottest Term Hey You, Get Off-ah My Cloud! Evolving (or not) with Our Devices The New Wallet: Is it Dumb to Carry a Smartphone? BYOD Is Driving IT ‘Crazy,’ Gartner Says Consumerization trend driving IT shops 'crazy,' Gartner analyst says
