Pointers at Glance
- Several companies with bring-your-own-device policies install apps or agents on workers’ smartphones to help secure them, leveraging the management capabilities built into operating systems such as Android and iOS.
- Cloudflare launched an eSIM to secure mobile devices.
Cloudflare announced Zero Trust SIM and Zero Trust for Mobile Operators, two product offerings targeting smartphone users, the companies securing corporate phones and the carriers selling data services.
Zero Trust SIM is designed to secure all data packets leaving a smartphone. Once launched in the US, Zero Trust SIM will be available as an eSIM deployable through existing mobile device management platforms for iOS and Android devices.
It will be locked to a specific device, mitigating the risk of SIM-swapping attacks, and usable in a standalone configuration or tandem with Cloudflare’s mobile agent, WARP.
Graham-Cumming said that Zero Trust SIM provides defense in depth. A VPN layer is one component. However, it still needs to remove the need to deploy cellular connectivity across your mobile devices today. Traditional ‘AnyConnect-style’ VPNs do nothing to stop attackers moving laterally once they are inside the VPN
He says it will be an extension of the per-seat pricing Zero Trust customers have today. He expects that most devices will be even more compatible once Cloudflare begins providing physical SIM cards for the service, which it plans to do soon.
Cloudflare had less to share regarding the Zero Trust for Mobile Operators. Graham-Cumming said that a carrier partner program, Zero Trust for Mobile Operators, will allow service providers to offer subscriptions to mobile security tools from Cloudflare’s Zero Trust platform. Interested operators can sign up for more information.
As per one source, enterprise IoT spending increased by 22.4% in 2021 to $158 billion as tailwinds like supply chain challenges strengthened. The segment’s rife with incumbents, but Cloudflare’s betting it can throw around enough weight to make a sizable dent.
