NCCoE Buzz: Mobile Security Edition

The NCCoE Buzz: Mobile Security Edition

Have you ever thought about having your driver’s license on your mobile phone?

In the last two decades, mobile devices have revolutionized the way we live, work, and connect with each other across the globe. From communication and information access to productivity and entertainment, the prevalence of mobile devices in our everyday lives is undeniable.

As the world rapidly evolves and technology redefines how we interact with our surroundings, a significant innovation that holds the potential to transform our daily lives is the Mobile Driver’s License (mDL). This digital evolution of the traditional physical driver’s license brings numerous benefits and conveniences to drivers but can also present security and privacy challenges that we must address.

mDL Definition

An mDL is a digital representation of a driver’s license on a mobile device. It contains all the essential information found on a physical driver’s license, including the driver’s name, photo, date of birth, and driving privileges. An mDL also has the capability to be updated in real time.

Learn More: mDL Project at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE)

Experts at the NCCoE are working with industry, government agencies, and academic institutions to research and implement international standards (ISO/IEC 18013-5 and ISO/IEC 18013-7) on mDLs. These standards are being developed to provide improved usability, convenience, and stronger security in digital identity management.

The mDL project will define and facilitate one or more reference architectures that protect privacy, provide secure implementation, enable equity, allow widespread adoption, and facilitate ease-of-use by:

Building an open-source reference implementation that will retrieve digital driver’s license information from the mobile device
Demonstrating different use cases to access the ID stored on the device
Developing a practice guide that includes mDL design, architecture, and leading practices

If you would like more information on the Digital Identities - mDL project, consider joining the Community of Interest. Visit the mDL webpage for more information.

Did you know that mobile devices were initially only used as personal consumer communication devices? Today devices are used to access modern networks and systems that process sensitive data and are often integrated across organizations’ enterprises. With this in mind, organizations need strategies that holistically address mobile security concerns, including mitigations and countermeasures.

In an effort to assist organizations with these deployment strategies, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released Revision 2 of NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-124, Guidelines for Managing the Security of Mobile Devices in the Enterprise. The publication provides a five-step enterprise mobile device deployment life cycle to help organizations build and manage the security of their deployment:

Identify Mobile Requirements. In the first stage of the life cycle, mobile mission needs and requirements are defined. Devices are inventoried, and the deployment model such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or Corporate-Owned and Personally-Enabled (COPE) is selected.
Perform Risk Assessment. Risk is identified, estimated, and prioritized. Risk assessments should be performed on a regular basis since risks to enterprise systems are always evolving.
Implement Enterprise Mobility Strategy. Mobile technology is selected and installed; an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) system is deployed, policies and configurations are created and provisioned to enrolled devices, and system testing is employed. The implementation stage can include additional security- and privacy-enhancing technologies, such as a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) service.
Operate and Maintain. An initial set of controls is deployed and then periodic audits can evaluate the effectiveness of the security controls. This allows for adjustments to efficiently meet mission needs and improve security posture.
Dispose of and/or Reuse Devices. This step outlines how to prevent sensitive information stored on a mobile device from falling into the wrong hands when a device is no longer in use.

To learn more about NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-124, Guidelines for Managing the Security of Mobile Devices in the Enterprise or to download a copy of the guide, visit the publication page.

What is it?

Mobile devices allow employees to conveniently do their work from home, at the office, or on the go. While this provides flexibility and convenience, it could expose an organization to potential threats. Managing mobile devices’ security and device health is vital to minimizing an organization’s risk posture.

Mobile device management (MDM), sometimes included within a unified endpoint management (UEM) solution, is an enterprise tool that allows organizations to secure mobile devices that are used to access organizational resources. An employee’s personal or corporate-owned device can be enrolled into an MDM solution to apply enterprise configurations, manage enterprise applications, and enforce compliance with enterprise policies.

How does it work?

Mobile devices connect to the MDM solution via an application running on the device. Enterprise administrators use the MDM product to manage and enforce policies on connected devices. If a device is found out of compliance with a policy, an organization can enforce a compliance action.

Another common use for an MDM solution is installing and managing applications on the device that will be used for work. For example, the MDM can install an email application that is pre-configured with the user’s work login.

How does it address security and privacy concerns?

The main goal behind using an MDM solution is to ensure that devices are in a more secure state before allowing access to corporate resources. These policies can specify certain privacy- and security-enhancing configurations, such as requiring a passcode to unlock the device or preventing data loss by restricting copy/paste/screenshot capabilities.

In addition, privacy-preserving mechanisms are built into both the MDM and the devices themselves to limit unnecessary exposure of employees’ personal information. For example, when personal devices are used for work (i.e., bring your own device, or “BYOD”), the device has built-in mechanisms to ensure that personal and work data are completely separate, and that work applications cannot access any personal information on the device, such as pictures or SMS messages.

What can you do?

Download our SP 1800-21 and 1800-22 guides to learn more about mobile device management and other mobile device security and privacy capabilities, including how these solutions can strengthen the security and privacy of your enterprise environment.

With Halloween around the corner, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) wants to share a few “tricks” and tips for mobile passwords that result in the “treat” of protecting your mobile device from compromise.

An illustration of a mobile device with Halloween-themed elements.

Potential Threats:

Below is a list of several potential mobile password threats that can impact you or your organization:

Lost/Stolen Phone – If an unauthorized user obtains a lost or stolen mobile phone that has no password, they may have easy access to sensitive information on the device (e.g., messages, photos, or email)
Brute-Force Attack – If a mobile phone has a weak password, a malicious attacker may be able to easily obtain the password and gain access to information on the mobile phone
Phishing – If a password is captured by texting or emailing to convince a user or subscriber into thinking the attacker is a verifier or reliable party, the attacker can gain access to a user’s account(s) and access sensitive information

Password Protections:

To protect against mobile password threats, here are a few tips:

1. Apply multi-factor authentication.

If a password is compromised, requiring a second factor for authentication can help protect against threats such as phishing attacks.

Multi-factor authentication can be any combination of the following:

Something you know – Password, pin, etc.
Something you have – Authenticator app, hardware token, etc.
Something you are – Biometrics (e.g., fingerprint or face recognition)

For example, if an attacker has acquired your password (something you know) through a phishing attack, but your account requires a password + your fingerprint (something you are) to grant access, then the attacker will not be able to access your account because they do not have access to the second factor.

2. Choose a password with a minimum length of 8 characters.

A common misconception is that complexity is the key to having a strong password. NIST SP 800-63B highlights that complexity can actually make it difficult for the user to remember their password and can deter them from developing a strong memorable password.

Instead, 800-63B recommends creating a memorable password that is at least 8 characters in length to help prevent against brute-force attacks, while also ensuring the user can remember their password/pin/passphrase.

We hope these mobile password tricks and treats were helpful.

Additional Resources:

More information about how to use and apply specific authenticators can be found in NIST Special Publication 800-63B Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Lifecycle Management.
More information on how to protect against other potential mobile threats can be found in NIST SP 1800-22 Mobile Device Security: Bring Your Own Device.

NCCoE Buzz: Mobile Security Edition