Hack 73. Lock Down Your BlackBerry

With all the sensitive information kept on handhelds, no wonder security organizations cringe as more users obtain BlackBerry devices and PDAs. Some simple steps can help put everyone's minds at ease.

If lost or stolen, handhelds contain proprietary information that could be compromised. There are some features available that individual users can take advantage of. Additionally, there are options available to BlackBerry administrators to help ensure that corporate information is protected.

7.3.1. Set Owner Information

If you lost your wallet, you'd want it to have your contact information in case the finder wants to return it to you. Likewise, you would want your contact information contained in your handheld for the same reason. Owner information is one of the first things that should be set up on your handheld.

Owner information will be displayed when the BlackBerry is locked and password protected. At a minimum, name and contact phone number or address should be included. To set owner information on your device, open up your handheld options (on 7100 series devices, it's under the Settings option). Click Owner and type your contact information. Click the trackwheel and select Save. The owner information will appear when your handheld is locked, as shown in Figure 7-2. This can also be automated using BESAdminClient [Hack #83].

Figure 7-2. Owner information displaying when the handheld is locked

7.3.2. Set Up a Password and Security Timeout

If your handheld contains sensitive information, you can set a password and security timeout on your handheld to protect your data. An individual password between 4 and 14 characters can be set. In the handheld options, click Security. Set the Password field to Enabled. Security Timeout can also be set to various values ranging from one minute to one hour. The Security timeout defines the period of inactivity after which the handheld will be locked and require a password to unlock. Once you have set these, click and select Save. You will be prompted to enter a password and then asked to enter the same password again to confirm. Security options are displayed here in Figure 7-3.

Figure 7-3. Handheld security options

7.3.3. Lock a BlackBerry Remotely

If you're an administrator, your BlackBerry Management console provides options useful if a handheld is lost or stolen. Using IT Admin, shown in Figure 7-4, choose Set Password and Lock, Set Owner Info, or Kill Handheld.

Figure 7-4. IT Admin options

IT Admin commands are sent over the air and therefore the handheld must be able to receive the commands!

To access the options:

1. Open BlackBerry Enterprise Server Management. In the left pane, your BlackBerry server will be displayed.

2. Select a server name. Users assigned to that server are displayed in the right pane.

3. Right-click a user and select IT Admin.

Set Password and Lock, shown in Figure 7-5, can be used to create a new handheld password over the air and lock the handheld. It will replace any existing password on the handheld. This action will lock the handheld and prompt the user for the new password. If a password exists on the device, the user will be asked to accept the new password that the administrator set.

Figure 7-5. IT Admin, Set Password and Lock

Set Owner Info can be used to set the owner information that is stored on the handheld. Kill Handheld is another option for a lost device it will disable the handheld and delete all information that was stored on the handheld. The Kill Handheld confirmation screen is displayed in Figure 7-6.

If a handheld is disabled using Kill Handheld, it can be reenabled at a later time by running the BlackBerry Application Loader on the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The data will be wiped from the device unless you restore it from a backup.

Figure 7-6. IT Admin Kill Handheld

Shari Kornberg