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Securing the Kindle Fire in the Enterprise

Presented by Brian Christini

@MaaS360

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Agenda

• Setting the stage• Amazon Kindle Fire…what is it?– Specs– Experience

• Using the Kindle – pros and cons– Personal use– Business use– Enterprise device management

• Enterprise support - best practices– Visibility– Policy– Secure email– Apps/docs

• Conclusion

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Setting the Stage

• Mobility and Internet connectivity are assumed at this point

• Consumerization & BYOD impact– Consumers choosing their preferred technology…– … and then bringing it into the enterprise

• Tablet explosion– iPad initial winner– Kindle Fire 4-5 million sales in Q4

• Holiday season – updates/upgrades/new devices– Really brings zero day support to forefront

• What about the enterprise and IT– What can be done to manage and enable these

devices

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Amazon Kindle Fire Overview - Specs

• HEIGHT - 7.5” • WIDTH – 4.7’ • DEPTH – 0.45” • WEIGHT - <1lb • PLATFORM – modified Android

OS (2.3)• STORAGE – 8GB • PROCESSOR SPEED – 1 GHz dual

core • DISPLAY- 7”; 1024x600 pixels • ASPECT RATIO – 16:10 • CAMERA – N/A • BATTERY – lithium battery

rechargeable, up to 8 hours over Wi-Fi

• 3G/Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi only • APPLICATIONS – 8k+ • PRICE - $199

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Kindle Fire Experience

• Media Consumption– More than just an e-reader– More free stuff than iPad

• Web Browsing (Silk)– Adobe Flash

• Amazon App Store– One free app every day

• Amazon Prime– Movies, TV shows, books– Free Shipping

• Cloud Storage

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Kindle Fire for Personal Use

• Pros– Low cost– Large Amazon

content ecosystem– Whispersync– Free Cloud storage– Email capable– Fast

• Cons– Lack of 3G options– No Android Market– Lack of camera– No GPS options– Limited home

screen customization

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Kindle Fire for Business Use

• Pros– Low cost– Secure app market

(not the wild west)– Fast browsing (Silk)– Very portable– Easy content

consumption

• Cons– 7” Screen– No Android Market -

limited business apps

– Lack of 3G option– Third-party mail

client needed for ActiveSync

– Non-native notepad and calendaring

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… But Can a Kindle Fire be Managed?

• There appears to be some misconceptions in the market place about this

• And we’re here to provide some facts to help answer that question

• We’ve tested and compared the management features of the Kindle Fire vs. what’s available on a native Android device running the same OS version (2.3)

• Outlined the pros and cons• Best practice recommendations

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IT Enterprise Management - Pros

• OTA Policy Configuration– Enroll– Passcode Config & Enforcement– App Compliance– Wi-Fi Profile Config– Email Config (3rd Party)

• Device Management– Wipe (Selective)– Reset Passcode– Lock, Send Message, etc.

• Device Reporting– Hardware, Software, Network &

Security

• App/Doc Management• Secure Corporate Email

– Through 3rd party app

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IT Enterprise Management - Cons

• Does Not Support Android’s C2DM Framework

• No Hardware Encryption• Does not Support Android Market

– Not all Market apps are on Amazon– Enterprise apps may need to go

through Amazon process for App Store availability

• No Native Email Application• Locate Device Action Not

Available• No Clear OS Upgrade Procedure

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Google’s Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM)

• Android Cloud to Device Messaging (C2DM) is a service that helps developers send data from servers to their applications on Android devices– I.e., real-time device communication

• Available on Android 2.2 and above• Amazon does not use Google’s C2DM

network for real-time notifications• However, this means no Google

account is required (but for content, an Amazon account is)

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Best Practice – Discover What You Have

• Gaining Visibility into Kindle Fire devices in your environment– Use MDM or EAS tools to manage all new

devices connecting into your email environment– Quarantine and block if required– Manage Kindle Fire devices by creating a

separate group– Have hardware and software inventory reporting

• Manage all your devices in a single, consistent interface– Noting mostly BYOD, so needs to be quick and

easy

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Best Practice – Policy Management

• Create a separate policy for Kindle Fire devices– Security: Set Passcode, wipe after “x” failed

attempts, lock after “x” minutes– Actions: Reset passcode, Wipe, Selective Wipe – Profiles: Push Corporate Wi-Fi

• Configurable device check-in periods – To help ensure device policies, actions and

apps/docs are delivered in a timely fashion– Remember - Amazon does not use Google’s

C2DM network for real time notifications

• Enforce MDM control

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Best Practice – Secure Email

• Email is still by far the most requested app for support, we recommend using a secure email client along with an MDM solution– Profile configuration and removal as part of

policy management– Encrypt email and attachments– Block Copy/Paste– Set app password

• Since Kindle Fire is based on 2.3 Android OS, there is no hardware encryption on the device

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Best Practice – App Management

• Remember – No Android market support– If recommending apps, use a mobile app

management solution (MAM) to ensure apps are available on the Amazon Appstore

– However doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to get these apps on the device

• Recommend these apps specifically to the Amazon Kindle device group or individual Kindle devices

• App compliance– Bring over any relevant whitelisted, blacklisted or

required app policies

• Push enterprise apps & docs as needed– ebooks, videos, pdf, ppt, doc, etc.

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Amazon Kindle Fire Overview – Key Note

• Note on Wipe on Kindle Fire: – If Admin performs a wipe via MDM and the

device battery is low, then the device tries to wipe but due to low battery, it displays a message stating that “low in battery cannot wipe the device” and powers off

– Once the device is charged it gets wiped

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Conclusions

• Tablets continue to be a hot topic in enterprise mobility, with BYOD being a major driver

• Kindle Fire has had a successful launch, and IT needs to be aware of it because it provides many of the same concerns as any other mobile device

• Though Kindle Fire provides some unique customizations it generally provides the same management capabilities as other Android devices with 2.3 OS– However there are some differences that an enterprise needs

to consider when defining policies

• Recommendation: Evaluate your specific needs and uses cases before making a decision to support– If yes, make sure you have right tools in place to manage and

enable these devices– If no, you may still need some safeguards in place to block

these devices

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MaaS360 - Kindle Fire Support (available now)• MDM Best Practice

– Visibility/Quarantine– OTA enrollment– Policy – Passcode, Wi-Fi, Email– Actions – Lock, Wipe, Reset

Passcode– Reporting– Integrates with TouchDown for

secure email

• App and Doc Management– White/Blacklist/Required– Push Corporate or Amazon Apps– Push Docs

*Refer to Kindle Fire Product Guide for further details on SupportNote - supports Kindle Fire OS version 6.2+

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MaaS360 Overview

User/Device Enrollment

OTA Configuration & Management

In-depth Inventory & Device Reporting

Improved Visibility & Control

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Network World MDM Product Test

“Fiberlink’s MaaS360 is our Clear Choice Winner, based on its strong overall performance, particularly its ease of use. The application initially shocked us, as it was comparatively simple to deploy.”

MaaS360 is the Clear Choice Winner

@MaaS360

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Wrap-up

• Up-coming Webinars (http://maasters.maas360.com/webinars/)

– February 2 – Building Apps for iPhone and iPad

• Past Webinars (http://links.maas360.com/webinars/)

– Managing iPhones, iPads, and Androids with Exchange ActiveSync– Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2– Enabling iPhones and iPads in the Enterprise

• Plus lots of How-To content at the MaaSters Center – How does MaaS360 manage my Amazon Kindle Fire?

• http://links.maas360.com/maas360kindlefire/

– Creating a new Android Policy for my Kindle Fire• http://links.maas360.com/newpolicykindlefire/

– Track Mobile Data Usage with MaaS360• http://links.maas360.com/trackmobiledata/

Questions or follow-up?Brian Christini bchristini@fiberlink.comJoe Pappano jpappano@fiberlink.com