FRAMINGHAM (04/24/2000) - Security analysts and IT managers advise you to do the following to keep information on your handhelds from getting into the wrong hands:
1. Have your company purchase handhelds and smart phones to make it clear who owns the critical data on them.
2. Set up synchronization software on a server common to all handhelds to ease administration and to assist in monitoring who is downloading what data.
3. Develop policies that explicitly state who owns the data, what data can be downloaded to a handheld and what data must be surrendered if questions arise.
4. Describe password protections and privacy concerns and risks to users.
Passwords need to be changed often and assigned by an administrator so users won't pick obvious passwords.