New York Life implemented a layered mobile security approach from MobileIron and Skycure, which helps make its employees and licensed agents more agile with mobile while protecting customer data on devices and in the corporate network.
New York Life is committed to mobile-enabling its workforce in a way that supports their needs and meets the company's strict security and compliance requirements.
New York Life's mobile workers use smartphones and tablets to access corporate email and a custom web-based portal where they can securely access customer information. The company also plans to deploy Microsoft Office 365, first for employees and then for agents.
"By enabling our agents to securely access client information before a meeting, we can help them be better prepared and ultimately make smarter policy recommendations," said Steven Johnson, head of Data Protection & Cybersecurity Services, Enterprise Technology Group, New York Life.
"MobileIron and Skycure help us make our workforce more effective while we live up to the trust people place in New York Life when it comes to protecting their personal data."
New York Life uses MobileIron to secure and manage a mix of corporate and employee-owned mobile devices, and uses Skycure Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) to proactively detect and protect against threats before they make it to the device.
Skycure is currently used on employees' corporate-owned devices and will soon be rolled out to the licensed agents' BYOD mobile devices.
"We see the mobile device as just another computing platform and we needed a way to replicate our desktop controls in the mobile environment," said Johnson.
"Skycure integrated with MobileIron helps us be both proactive and reactive about security. Skycure detects and protects against malware, vulnerability and network-based attacks, and MobileIron enforces compliance policies if a device doesn't meet our security requirements."
As New York Life prepares to roll out Office 365, Johnson's team is considering how best to expand its BYOD program beyond licensed agents.
Employees would prefer to use their own devices to access corporate systems, and Johnson's team is driving toward stronger enforcement of policies to protect that use case.
"As more of our workers use their personally-owned devices to access our systems, applications, and data, we are driving toward a stronger enforcement stance," said Johnson.
"If the Skycure mobile app detects an incident, it will take immediate action to protect the device, and also notify MobileIron to enforce corporate policy, as necessary. Having visibility of the real threats that are out there, and a better understanding of the potential for exposing private data, helps our employees make better decisions about their mobile behavior."