Mobile computer systems – security considerations

The number of workers using computers away from the office is increasing, particularly for engineers, accountants, salesmen and consultants, and those called nomadic users. The increasing use necessitates the need for security considerations by the users and their supervisors. Companies’ sensitive data are usually available on the mobile computers. Therefore, serious consideration must be given to the security aspect of these mobile computers. Data security involves considering issues of integrity, availability and confidentiality. The type of organization, the acceptability of restrictions on the users, the risk involved and the cost of the security are some of the factors that need serious attention when discussing security for mobile computers. We propose minimum security measures taking into account the minimum security needs already identified. Various situations were examined to determine the appropriate measures applicable to each of them. Principal requirements for security solutions such as implementing software‐base access control at the beginning of the hard disk and the role of encryption were also discussed.