Misplacing a device can be incredibly nerve wracking, but having the ability to execute a Remote Wipe can help avoid catastrophe.
Define Remote Wipe
What is a Remote Wipe?
Remote Wipe is defined by Tech Target as “a security feature that allows a network administrator or device owner to send a command that remotely deletes data from a computing device.” Owners enroll in a program such as DriveStrike that offers Remote Wipe options before an incident takes place. This allows Remote Wipe to be used both in a standard device management context and while responding to a missing or otherwise compromised device.
What is DriveStrike?
DriveStrike is an Endpoint Security Software that enables you to manage and protect phones, laptops, computers, and tablets. DriveStrike allows administrators to manage any number of devices remotely with a secure online dashboard. From this dashboard, the admin can Locate devices, Remote Lock devices, and manage Encryption, as well as initiate a Remote Wipe on a missing or compromised device.
An Example: Allan’s Accident
A man named Allan is traveling for work and stops at a cafe to grab a sandwich before walking to a partner’s office for a meeting. Once he arrives in the conference room, he realizes that he cannot find his work phone. This device is his main method of communication while traveling, and he uses it to manage multiple company email inboxes. It contains text conversations with various coworkers about current projects, and has downloaded files with some financial information in them. Suddenly, Allan is aware his device, and potentially his company, could be compromised at any time.
What can he do?
Remote Wipe and DriveStrike
In this scenario, the best thing Allan can do is contact his company’s IT department and report his device missing. Members of the IT Department have been tasked with creating and maintaining a Mobile Device Management (MDM) Plan, and will have ideas of what is necessary to protect all the laptops, cell phones, and tablets used by the organization.
Since his company has trained its employees how to respond to incidents like this, Allan wastes no time contacting his IT Administrator to report the problem. The company’s DriveStrike Administrators have access to the company account and can execute commands to begin securing the phone or destroying sensitive data. The Administrator will utilize the secure online Dashboard to check the current location of the device (there may be a chance he left it on his desk when he locked up his house before catching his plane!) and take steps from there to protect Allan’s private information and privileged company material. This will take seconds within the portal.
Assuming the device already had DriveStrike installed, a security administrator will:
- From the Dashboard, select the device in question.
- Review the device information and a map of the last known device Location, and note the Available Actions.
- Execute the Locate command if more specificity is needed.
- Click Wipe in Available Actions. This command will be initiated immediately — if the machine is currently operating, it will be wiped completely within a few minutes. If the device is not connected to the internet the wipe will commence when it is next online.
The faster Allan can respond to the threat of a missing and potentially compromised device, the better the chance that no lasting damage is caused. Even if it is PIN protected, it does not mean that it is okay to “cut his losses” and buy a new phone. A bad actor can gain control of the data on the machine if it is not wiped as soon as it turns up missing. In these situations, seconds count.
No one ever wants to find themselves in a situation like Allan’s, but it is best to be prepared for the possibility. In high-stakes scenarios when data is at risk, it is essential to be ready to defend any device in seconds. Bolster your Endpoint Security by starting a free trial and installing DriveStrike today!