Keep Laptops on a Leash

Nascent technology tackles mobile employee security and management.

Admins used to be in charge when everyone sat at an office desk and booted up a mini-tower, but today's mobile employees are largely out of their control. How do companies protect sensitive data on lost or stolen laptops, for example? And how do they keep antivirus, patches and configurations up to date?

Project Evros is a 3G-enabled PCMCIA card from Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, designed to put IT departments back in charge of laptops, no matter where they are, whether they are logged in to the corporate network, and whether they are on or off.

The value proposition is in management and security. End user connectivity is controlled via 3G, WiFi or LAN VPN, depending on circumstances. Managers can update laptops via the 3G modem, even while it sits in the case in your hotel room, letting Evros cache the files until it is switched on. The 3G connection opens wide possibilities, from downloading all types of media to automated remote backups.

"It has valuable potential," says Sandra Palumbo, program manager for enterprise IT and communications services at Yankee Group. "For example, it could act as a thin client; it becomes my laptop, or could plug in to my personal laptop."

The security features are no less intriguing. Evros encrypts data on the laptop, and can enforce local quarantine if a serious problem is detected. If the card is pulled out, the laptop is pretty much useless. An embedded GPS tracks lost or stolen laptops, and admins can remotely wipe the hard drive as soon as one is reported missing.

"Our biggest issue is a daily fear that one of our laptops is stolen, with a complete patient database on each remote device," says Michael Landsittel, manager of information technology for the Visiting Nurses Association of Northern New Jersey, which is piloting Evros for its remote workers. "We have concerns for HIPAA privacy, and Social Security numbers and financial information on 80 laptops scattered over one-and-a half counties."

With a typically small IT staff--three including himself--Landsittel is hard-pressed to service his laptops.

"This will make it easier on the nurses," he says. "We can touch the Evros card any time."

Also, Evros complements network access control solutions, which assess the security posture of devices as users log in.

"If you have confidential data on a laptop, you can't give up on it," says Dor Skuler, the project's director/general manager. "Evros uses local access control; it forces a VPN connection all the time. And you can only go to the [corporate] network, not the public network, while quarantined." "One struggle for businesses is securing anything roving," Palumbo says. "It complements a lot of existing laptop features, especially for specific verticals in which companies have extreme security needs."