It seems we can’t go a day lately without a new story about some security screw-up involving a lost or misplaced Blackberry. This week, officials with John McCain’s campaign mistakenly sold a Blackberry to a Fox television reporter for $20 in a fire sale. The device contained confidential campaign information. And many Hollywood gossip publications were abuzz earlier this month with news that Tom Cruise had lost his Blackberry while promoting a movie in Toronto. (Mixed reports now peg the device as either “found,” or “never lost in the first place.”)

With all of these slip-ups, it’s no wonder White House officials want President-Elect Barack Obama to relinquish his Blackberry before taking office. With this in mind, CSO asked Dan Hoffman, author, mobile security expert and CTO of SMobile Systems, for his advice on ways to keep your Blackberry safe.

Read: 5 Ways to Secure Your Blackberry

PRESS RELEASE

COLUMBUS, Ohio, December 1, 2008 – SMobile Systems, the leading provider of security solutions for mobile phones announced that its top-selling Security Shield application is being introduced for Blackberry. Security Shield for Blackberry integrates its anti-virus solution, VirusGuard, with remote lock, wipe, backup and restore functions.

For over three years, SMobile VirusGuard for BlackBerry has been the only antivirus solution protecting BlackBerry devices from Malware, Spyware and malicious cyber attacks. By coupling this innovative product with remote lock, wipe, backup and restore functions, small businesses and consumers are finally afforded access to remote security functionality previously only available to users supported by large enterprise IT departments capable of implementing a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). For millions of Blackberry users without the benefit of a BES, sensitive data such as e-mail, contact lists and scheduling are now safer thanks to SMobile Systems.

“We all know someone who has left their phone at a restaurant or in a taxi, and as a result has lost everything from important contact information to proprietary and confidential personal or professional data,” said Neil Book, president, SMobile Systems. “Large corporations are backing up data regularly and IT managers have the option to lock or wipe the contents of a missing device, but individuals and small or medium sized businesses have gone without the protection of these features until now.”

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