Need indicators
This capability is usually relevant when these signals appear in the operating environment.
Personal devices are used for work.
Need to wipe work data only.
Work files are shared from mobile.
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Discuss your use case
What is this solution?
A secure mobile container isolates work apps and data from personal use on a phone or tablet. It applies work-space access and sharing policy, with encryption and data-removal behavior depending on platform and integration. Deploying the container does not mean managing the entire device or its personal apps.
A secure mobile container supports work data isolation on personal devices and protects work email within the BYOD secure workspace.
Practical example
An employee reads work email on a personal phone inside a dedicated workspace. During offboarding, the team checks how work data access is removed on the supported platform.
Technical summary and scope of use
Technical explanation
Mobile work environment protection technology is a specialized security system used to safeguard communications and business data via smartphones and tablets.
The technology is based on creating a secure and isolated application container to separate business data from personal data, with encryption app to protect communications and exchange data during mobile use.
The technology helps protect business data when using smartphones and tablets within mobile work environments.
Instead of using multiple applications or storing data directly within the device, work services are running within a secure and isolated space that keeps data and communications confidential.
The technology protects e-mails, files, conversations, and contacts within one encrypted environment, reducing the risk of data leakage or unauthorized access.
IT teams also help manage mobile devices more organized by integrating with mobile device management systems, while keeping it easy to use for the end user.
Scope of use
The technology works within multi-platform mobile environments, providing a standard environment for running basic business services such as:
- The email
- Calendar
- The contacts
- Documents
- Notes
- Talks
- browsing
The technical objective is:
- Protection of work data during mobile use
- Prevent the storage of sensitive data within the device.
- Reduce the risk of data leakage.
- Protecting communications from manipulation or objection
- Support for secure management of mobile devices within institutions
What it delivers
Core capabilities that turn the requirement into practical controls.
Protection of data and communications
Protected work environment
Support of devices and platforms
Expected value
The impact security teams and leadership can expect from the right implementation.
User privacy preserved
Work data protected
More flexible BYOD support
Technical capabilities
Feature availability depends on product version, target systems, deployment, and integrations.
Protection of data and communications
Providing a safe and isolated container
Keep the function and its data within the managed workspace according to organizational policy.
Communications and data exchange
It supports communication protection and data exchange through encryption mechanisms during transportation.
Separation of work data from personal data
It supports the isolation of work information from personal information on smartphones and tablets, and is compatible with the requirements for the isolation of work information within a protected environment.
Prohibition of storing work data on the device
Define storage location and retention, and verify the copy’s integrity when it is needed.
Prohibition of storing work data in unsafe environments
Define storage location and retention, and verify the copy’s integrity when it is needed.
Protection of sensitive mobile communications
Keep the function and its data within the managed workspace according to organizational policy.
Protection of data in transit
Identify work data locations and transfer paths and verify that unapproved destinations are blocked.
Protected work environment
Provide a safe and standard environment for work applications
Keep the function and its data within the managed workspace according to organizational policy.
Email support in a safe environment
Supports e-mail running within a secure application environment instead of using it outside the protection.
Supporting Calendar in a Safe Environment
Keep work appointments in the managed calendar and review synchronization with personal apps.
Supporting contacts within a safe environment
Separate enterprise contacts inside the container and review whether they may be shared outside the workspace.
Notes within the secure workspace
Keep work notes inside the managed workspace under supported sharing and retention policies.
Supporting documents within a safe environment
Keep the function and its data within the managed workspace according to organizational policy.
Chat within the secure workspace
Keep supported chats in the managed workspace and review rules for copying or sharing outside it.
Supporting browsing within a safe environment
Open work destinations in the managed browser where supported, subject to link and download policies.
Support of devices and platforms
Support for smart phones.
Verify device type and OS compatibility with work policy before enrollment.
Support of Tablets
Verify device type and OS compatibility with work policy before enrollment.
Support for various mobile systems
Verify device type and OS compatibility with work policy before enrollment.
Working through more than one type of equipment.
Verify device type and OS compatibility with work policy before enrollment.
Management and Integration
Simplified operations management
Review how administrators manage access and policies for the secure workspace without changing the user's personal space.
Integration with mobile device management systems
Supports secure management of mobile devices by compatibility with mobile device management systems.
Support for Central Management of Mobile Devices
Bring configuration and monitoring into one management point while keeping operator permissions restricted.
Reduce the need for user training.
Associate users or groups with authorized scope and review how membership changes affect access.
reliability and use
Support for use within government and institutional environments
Confirm environment requirements, supported versions, and dependencies before moving the configuration to production.
Support for mobile work for employees
Measure behavior under expected load and during a component interruption or recovery.
Facilitating the use of work services through a standard environment
Compare representative workflows before and after rollout to measure manual effort and processing time.
Reduce the complexity of multiple applications
Compare representative workflows before and after rollout to measure manual effort and processing time.
Classification and security assessment
Evaluate the container against sensitive-communication requirements and data classification, and review test and approval records where available.
Assign information to a category that determines how it is handled so safeguards reflect sensitivity.
Support for the protection of limited classification communications
Assign information to a category that determines how it is handled so safeguards reflect sensitivity.
How the technology works
Separation and Isolation
The technology is based on creating a secure application container to separate business data from personal data and prevent data transfer between the two environments.
Cryptography
The encryption technology is used to protect communications, exchange data in transit and reduce the risk of interception or manipulation.
Reduce local storage.
The technology prevents the storage of sensitive work data inside the device or within unsafe environments.
Unifying the work environment
The technology provides a standard and secure environment for running different work services within one protected application.
Centralized administration
The technology supports integration with mobile device management systems to facilitate control and security management of the device.
Protection of Mobile Work
Provide a protected workspace for data and communications on smartphones and tablets.
What to validate before rollout
- Isolate work apps and data from personal use according to the container model.
- Test movement of files and text between apps and the policies governing it.
- Define enrollment, device loss, and access removal without assuming identical support across platforms.
Integration and scope
Verify supported apps and the boundaries of separation, sharing, encryption, and removal on each platform.
Challenges this solution addresses
- Working data from mobile devices.
- Mixing business data with personal data
- Storage of sensitive data within phones and tablets
- Use unsafe environments to store business data
- Displacement of Mobile Communications
- Manipulation of data in transit
- Cyber attacks related to mobile devices
- Deficiency in the central management of mobile devices
- Difficulty in protecting emails and files during mobile work
- Weak control of work data outside the organization environment
- Diversity of work applications and difficulty in managing them
- Data protection when the device is lost.
Regulatory alignment
Illustrative ways to support control implementation. An area may have more than one example; each row is not necessarily a separate official control.
NCA · ECC 2:2024For entities within the scope of the Essential Cybersecurity Controls.
| Domain or control | How it supports implementation | Application |
|---|---|---|
| mobile device security. | Support for business data separation and communication encryption within mobile devices | Applied |
| Protection of data and information | Protect work data in a safe and isolated environment | Applied |
| Cryptography | Encryption of data and communications during transport | Applied |
| Network Security Management | Safety of mobile channels. | Applied |
| Email protection | Email in a safe environment. | Applied |
| Management of assets | Central management support through mobile device management systems | Applied |
| Identity and access management | Restriction of access to work data within a protected environment | Applied |
| Continuity of business | Support for safe access to mobile work services Test failure and recovery paths. This capability does not replace a complete continuity or recovery plan. | Applied |
| Compliance and review | Supporting the use of technology in environments that require control protection for mobile communications Settings or logs can help prepare evidence. Governance decisions and effectiveness testing remain with the organization. | Applied |
SAMA · CSFFor financial institutions within the Saudi Central Bank framework, subject to the control's applicability.
| Domain or control | How it supports implementation | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Protection of data | It supports the protection of business data during transfer and use via encryption, while separating business data from personal data within a secure application container. Related capability: Safe application container and data transfer encryption | Applied |
| Security of personal equipment. | It supports the isolation of work information from personal information on smartphones and tablets, and is compatible with the requirements for the isolation of work information within a protected environment. Related capability: Separation of work data from personal data | Applied |
| Management of Mobile Devices | Supports secure management of mobile devices by compatibility with mobile device management systems. Related capability: Compatibility with mobile device management systems | Applied |
| Identity and access management | Supports restriction of access to business data within a protected application environment, in accordance with the principle of authorized and limited access to information. Related capability: Control of access to work data within the container | Applied |
| Cryptography | It supports communication protection and data exchange through encryption mechanisms in transit. Related capability: Communications and data exchange | Applied |
| Protection of Sensitive Data | It prevents the maintenance of work data on the device or within unsafe environments, reducing the risk of unlawful leakage or access. Related capability: Do not store work data on the device or in unsafe environments | Applied |
| Email protection | Supports e-mail running within a secure application environment instead of using it outside the protection. Related capability: Email within the safe container. | Applied |
| Protection of the mobile infrastructure | It supports the protection of smartphones and tablets used to access business information through secure container, encryption and central management. Related capability: Support for smartphones and tablets | Applied |
| Operational Security | Basic work functions combine within one protected environment, helping to adjust the use of mobile data and reduce operational dispersion. Related capability: A standard business environment including mail, calendar, contact, documents, conversations and browsing | Applied |
| Protection of sensitive financial systems | Support the protection of mobile access to sensitive business information through a encrypted and isolated environment, in connection with the requirements for information protection and electronic services in the financial sector. Related capability: Safe containers, encryption and unsafe storage prevention | Applied |
NCA · OTCC-1:2022For operational technology and industrial control environments to which the controls apply.
Evaluate these examples against the facility level and assets in scope. They do not authorize IT/OT connectivity or component installation on operational assets without assessment.
| Domain or control | How it supports implementation | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile devices in operating environments | Support the protection of mobile devices and the encryption and management of business data centrally Verify asset compatibility and test operational impact before deploying an agent or taking response action in an OT environment. | Applied |
| Protection of data and information | Protection of data in transit and preventing unsafe storage | Applied |
| Control of access to work data | Isolation of work data within a secure application container Use only authorized paths and assets. Network isolation and remote-access approval requirements still apply. | Applied |
| Management of communication between different environments | Provide safe and encrypted mobile communications. Use only authorized paths and assets. Network isolation and remote-access approval requirements still apply. | Applied |
| Protection of operating environments | Support safe use of mobile devices in sensitive environments | Applied |
“Applied” describes the capability in the illustrative example, not an implementation or compliance status for the customer.
Decision questions
Questions before you start
How do we know this solution is right for us?
Start with the risk signals on this page. If they match your environment, they can be turned into a short assessment that defines scope, priority, and a practical implementation approach.
How do we start without adding operational complexity?
Start with a focused risk and scope assessment, then define implementation priorities, technical requirements, and phased rollout steps.
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