Enhancing Mobile Device Security: Applying the NIS2 Directive

​​Mobile devices have become indispensable in our modern lives, enabling us to stay connected, access information, and conduct transactions on the go. However, the rise of mobile usage for accessing corporate information is attracting the increased attention of cybercriminals seeking to exploit vulnerabilities and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. In response to this growing threat landscape, the European Union's Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) recommends mobile threat defense (MTD) solutions as vital tools to protect mobile devices and their valuable information. This blog post will explore the relationship between NIS2 and MTD and how they work together to safeguard mobile devices.

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Understanding NIS2 and its application to mobile devices

The NIS2 Directive, introduced by the European Union, aims to strengthen the security and resiliency of critical infrastructure and digital services. Initially designed for network and information systems, the directive has been extended to include mobile devices, recognizing their significance in today's digital landscape. NIS2 establishes requirements for incident reporting, security measures, risk management, and cooperation, urging organizations to protect users and their data from potential cyber threats.

The directive introduces several requirements for mobile device security, which include:

Heightened security: By implementing the NIS2 requirements, organizations can enhance the security of mobile devices and the services they offer, reducing the risk of cyber threats and potential data breaches.

Improved incident response: The directive's incident reporting mechanisms enable swift reporting of cybersecurity incidents, ensuring timely intervention and mitigation to minimize the impact on users and services.

Enhanced risk awareness: Through risk management practices, mobile service providers gain a deeper understanding of the potential vulnerabilities and threats associated with their services, enabling them to take proactive measures to mitigate risks.

Stronger collaboration: The emphasis on cooperation and information sharing fosters a collaborative ecosystem where authorities and service providers work together to address emerging threats, share knowledge, and collectively strengthen mobile device security.

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The role of mobile threat defense

MTD solutions are an integral part of the NIS2 directive as they offer advanced protection against mobile-specific threats. They are designed to detect and mitigate risks posed by various mobile threats, including malware, phishing attacks, network spoofing, and device vulnerabilities. These solutions typically combine multiple security techniques, such as real-time threat intelligence, behavioral analysis, and machine learning, to identify and respond to emerging threats in real time.

Lookout Mobile Endpoint Security (MES) is a comprehensive mobile security solution designed to protect organizations against mobile threats. It provides advanced threat detection, real-time visibility, and remediation capabilities to safeguard mobile devices and the data they store or access.

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Key benefits of implementing Lookout Mobile Endpoint Security (MES)

Endpoint security built for mobile: Lookout MES is designed to address your ever-evolving mobile security requirements. The Lookout Security Graph, the industry’s most comprehensive threat intelligence database, powers Lookout MES and helps address mobile security requirements for any enterprise-size customer. 

The Security Graph is powered by artificial intelligence to protect you from known and unknown threats. It has the largest mobile threat database from analyzing over 215 million endpoints and over 185 million apps. With over 210 patents, the algorithms have discovered threats from over 1600 threat families and continue to evolve rapidly. It searches the internet daily to find websites purpose-built for phishing, and countless custom apps have been analyzed via our API.

Whether your users unknowingly download apps that have malware hidden in them or malicious actors are actively targeting your users with the latest ransomware or phishing scams, your users, and your sensitive data is protected at all times. When a threat or an attack occurs, we provide you with step-by-step instructions to investigate what is happening and take corrective actions to remediate such an attack.

‍Mobile risk and compliance: Lookout MES assesses and manages risks associated with mobile devices and ensures compliance with industry and regional regulatory requirements like NIS2. Lookout provides organizations with tools and services to protect their mobile endpoints, detect and respond to threats, and meet compliance standards.

Lookout helps organizations identify and assess mobile risks by monitoring and analyzing device and user behavior, analyzing app usage, network connections, and other indicators of potential security threats. It offers real-time threat detection, advanced malware protection, and data leakage prevention capabilities to mitigate risks and protect sensitive data like user credentials from mobile devices.

In terms of compliance, Lookout assists organizations in meeting regulatory requirements related to mobile security and data protection. This may involve providing visibility into data handling practices, enforcing mobile security policies, and ensuring compliance with industry-specific regulations and standards. Lookout helps organizations implement security controls, establish secure app usage guidelines, and maintain a secure mobile environment.

Mobile vulnerability management: Lookout MES removes the manual process of tracking down device information and the manual task of pairing that information with manufacturer and operating system (OS) vulnerability information. 

Because of Lookout’s ability to identify and monitor at the device configuration level, Lookout is able to list and break down the OS types, current OS version, and current security patch version across all mobile devices in the mobile fleet. Taking it a step further, Lookout provides vulnerability insight by pairing this configuration information with vulnerability data from the appropriate sources (i.e., Apple Security Updates, Android Security Bulletins, NIST NVD), making this information available to administrators.

This vulnerability information breaks down by OS/security version, the number of CVEs, their severity, and a link to additional information for them.

Additionally, Lookout also identifies OS/security patch level update information (based on manufacturer and type) per device. This information can be found in individual device profiles and can be exported as a part of the overall device export file for consumption.

‍Balance between security, performance, and privacy: Lookout MES is designed to operate seamlessly in the background without causing disruptions or impeding user experience. By integrating with the mobile OS, they provide real-time protection without compromising device performance or functionality, focusing on respecting and protecting personal privacy. We collect only the data necessary to deliver robust security and have rigorous controls in place to limit personal data collection and usage. Whatever we do collect, we ensure that it is protected both in-transit and at-rest.

‍Compliance with NIS2: Lookout MES plays a crucial role in meeting the security requirements outlined in the NIS2 directive. By implementing Lookout MES, organizations can enhance their security posture, improve incident response capabilities, and fulfill their obligations for risk management and incident reporting.

As mobile devices continue to dominate our digital lives, safeguarding them from evolving cyber threats is imperative. The combination of NIS2 and Lookout MES provides a comprehensive approach to protect mobile devices, user data, and critical services. By adhering to the NIS2 directive and leveraging Lookout MES, organizations can mitigate risks, detect and respond to threats proactively, and ensure a secure and resilient mobile ecosystem. Embracing these proactive measures helps create a safer digital environment, inspiring user confidence in mobile services and empowering individuals and businesses to harness the full potential of mobile technology.

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The Lookout difference

Lookout has amassed one of the world’s largest mobile security datasets. This has created the industry's most comprehensive global sensor network of over 215 million mobile devices and over 185 million mobile apps and with over 100 thousand new apps added daily. This global network of our sensors enable our platform to be predictive by letting machine intelligence identify complex patterns that indicate risk. These patterns would otherwise escape human analysts. Lookout has been securing mobile devices since 2007 and has built an unmatched expertise in this space. Lookout empowers your organization to adopt secure mobility without compromising productivity by providing the visibility IT and security teams need. 

To learn how you can enhance your mobile cybersecurity and meet NIS2 compliance requirements, contact us today and let us help you stay ahead of potential threats.

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