Sybase iAnywhere announced the availability of new security functionality within its Information Anywhere suite, designed to prevent unsecured mobile devices from receiving sensitive or confidential Microsoft Exchange email and personal information manager (PIM) data. This technology expands on the broad Sybase iAnywhere set of mobile security offerings, empowering IT organizations with another important way to protect corporate data from rogue mobile device access.

This new access control is available as part of the Security Manager component of the Information Anywhere suite, a platform that addresses converging enterprise requirements for mobile email, messaging, security, device management and enterprise applications.

"With the constantly changing mobile landscape, IT managers are faced with the daunting task of securing the influx of multiple types of mobile devices that may be obtained outside of corporate purchasing and provisioning processes," said Joe Owen, vice president, engineering, Sybase iAnywhere. "Now organizations can take advantage of Information Anywhere to easily block email access from devices that might compromise enterprise security policies."

 With the new Information Anywhere technology, IT managers can easily:

• Deny Microsoft Exchange email synchronization requests by handheld devices that are not properly managed and/or secured by the Security Manager component;
  
• Define the 'security verification policy' on the Security Manager console;
  
• Create a 'white list' of users that should always be allowed to synchronize with Exchange, even if their device fails the 'security verification policy'; and
  
• Create a 'black list' of users that should never be allowed to synchronize with Exchange.

"Wireless mail is a mission critical application in most companies, with highly sensitive data being passed around the organization," says Jack Gold, president of J.Gold Associates. "It is imperative that enterprises provide a way to block unapproved devices that present a potential security and compliance liability from accessing corporate systems. A policy-based approach, like Sybase iAnywhere's, that enables only approved and remediated devices to connect to sensitive information, is a must for organizations in almost any type of business, but especially in regulated industries."

"Mobility and the security of mobile devices and the information on them has become a business imperative for many companies," said Patricia Wilkey, director Global Desktop & Mobility for EDS. "EDS' customer base has requested this feature for some time, and Sybase iAnywhere responded by developing their new Access Control for Microsoft Exchange. The feature has great benefit for users in that it secures corporate email access to mobile devices not properly managed or secured."