Technology analysis: How easy are infosec products to use?
- Article 32 of 33
- SC Magazine, February 2013
The paradox of information security is that while the best products have necessarily complex functions, they must also be easy to use, writes Rob Buckley.
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He points to the early days of AV when vendors fought over product features and the number of virus definitions, with usability and performance largely forgotten about. "It was an arms race. But what happened was that machines became so unusable with AV that users would hit Ctrl Break to stop scans, creating a security risk. McAfee realised the problem, stepped back and stopped the arms race," Taylor says.
With budgets being cut, skilled staff at a premium and complexity ever-increasing, the day could be nigh when usability is as important a consideration as a product's features.
Case study: LNT Group
When LNT Group wanted to roll out 1,700 iPhones to staff, Leigh Ellis, head of web and marketing, knew ease of use was going to be important, not just for security but also for deployment. The group has six core businesses in sectors including construction and chemicals, but Ellis says the main concern was its nursing home staff who had "not much IT knowledge". Training was not an option, so something intuitive was paramount.
In particular, Ellis was looking to use a mobile device management (MDM) platform to maintain the iPhones securely and simply. He conducted a questionnaire to see whether the staff had used smartphones before and to what purpose. "Most knew someone who had a smartphone, but they had only used phones for the basics themselves," he says.
After selecting a few MDM products with the desired features, Ellis conducted trials among staff to see which they were able to use easily. "The same groups of people found the same products harder or easier to use, so it was simple for us to see which one we wanted," he says. LNT ended up choosing Absolute's MDM software, mainly because of its ease of use.
"Normally, when you're finding files and attachments, there can be multiple copies," says Ellis. "With Absolute Safe, there's one repository for all files - you don't have to scroll through emails." An app store within the interface also allows users to download and update approved apps, including ones authored by LNT, in a manner identical to the Apple App Store.
The system also simplifies administration. Ellis has to administer most of the security systems in use at LNT himself, since few others have the necessary technical training. However, the interface of the Absolute software is so simple that non-technical users can configure the MDM without prior training, saving Ellis some of the burden.
"It takes just five minutes to set up. Some of the systems require you to use RegEx commands just to specify who can access which systems at which times. Here, you just tick the boxes," he says.
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