Significant gaps found in DoD’s management of mobile devices

The U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General has discovered significant lapses in the Defense Department's management of mobile devices issued to its employees, reports The Register. Aside from the elevated prevalence of unauthorized applications and services on government-issued devices, the Defense Department also lacked control over such devices and has not properly trained its employees on how to properly use their devices, according to the DoD OIG report. "DoD officials may not be aware of the operational and cybersecurity risks that unmanaged applications pose to the DoD. DoD personnel may inadvertently lose or intentionally delete important DoD communications on unmanaged messaging applications. Additionally, mobile applications that are misused by DoD personnel or are compromised by malicious actors can expose DoD information or introduce malware to DoD systems," said the report, which recommended that the department prohibit public app store access in their devices and update its phone and app policies, as well as train employees on responsible mobile device and app use.