Protect Mobile Protects Consumers--and Enterprises?

Deutsche Telekom announced a new service yesterday called Protect Mobile. How it works can be summarized by their headline: Security is now a job for... the network!

The service, developed in collaboration with Check Point Software, provides protection against network-based mobile threats. Here's a brief description of the service:

Protect Mobile protects smartphone owners from Internet dangers at home and abroad: the protective shield in the Deutsche Telekom mobile communications network identifies and deflects viruses, worms, and trojans automatically. In addition, Protect Mobile blocks dangerous websites within the Deutsche Telekom network. Apps are checked for security issues before they are downloaded. Whether during online banking, surfing the web or on social networks, with Protect Mobile, users are effectively protected against cyberattacks both on the go and in their home Wi-Fi network.

The protection is performed by the network upon enrollment (for under a euro per month). A mobile app, available from the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) complements the network protection by displaying error messages, warning of risks and providing specific instructions regarding what the user should do in case of an error or a threat. Once the user is outside of the Deutsche Telekom network, the app provide on-device protection and raises alarms in case of threats and identifies them transparently. The primary goal of the app was ease of use.

This seems like a reasonable approach to providing mobile security across a broad swath of users. The security is strongest when using the Telekom network and the home Wi-Fi network. Presumably, protection when using non-Telekom Wi-Fi networks, such as in coffee shops, hotels, and airports, is provided via the Protect Mobile app. For most consumers, other than those who might be targeted by an attack, this level of protection is adequate and would prevent most mobile-based consumer threats such as financial fraud, ransomware, and identity theft.

But for enterprises within the Deutsche Telekom coverage area, if all of an enterprise's employees used Protect Mobile, it would provide relatively strong protection against most network- and device-based attacks. Does this constitute enterprise-class mobile security? Not exactly. As we've pointed out here, here and here, the stalker economy and data leakage are app-based threats--not network or device. Those kinds of threats put enterprise data at risk. For comprehensive protection, an enterprise would have to add protection against app-based threats to protect their data--and also to prepare for GDPR compliance in May.