Zimperium: Providing Next-Generation On-Device Mobile Security

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JT Keating, VP of Product Strategy, ZimperiumJT Keating, VP of Product Strategy
With smartphones and tablets becoming ubiquitous in our modern lives, employees are increasingly using them for corporate uses. It is challenging for companies to strike a balance between channeling the benefits of employees using mobile devices for work while making the usage secure in a cost-effective manner. While embracing the notion of BYOD, companies have to deal with security risks and prevent inappropriate usage or loss/theft of corporate data and the resulting financial and legal implications. It may also be difficult for them to establish effective governance mechanisms to ensure data privacy and security. As such, though BYOD brings lucrative values like higher employee productivity, the security risks, and the complexity of managing devices on multiple platforms could outweigh the benefits.

To this end, Zimperium, a leader in the mobile threat defense landscape, has developed a comprehensive suite of products, powered by machine-learning (ML) for on-device detection and effective remediation of mobile device, network, phishing and app threats. The company’s value proposition is leveraged by a wide range of customers, including enterprises of all sizes, federal and local government agencies, mobile operators, and major OEM partners.

In an interview with the CIO Applications’ editorial team, JT Keating, VP of Product Strategy at Zimperium, shares his insights about how the company has established itself as a leader in the cybersecurity landscape with their technological innovation and customer focus.

In your interactions with clients, what are some of the cybersecurity concerns that they share with you? How do you help address them?

Today, CIOs and CISOs are having to manage many different endpoints - not just laptops and computers. Sixty percent of devices used for corporate purposes belong to employees and are unsecure, which puts their sensitive data at high risk. Moreover, as enterprises need to comply with various mandates of data governance such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) or NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) standards, any data misuse or leakage can invite serious legal repercussions.

Because of their popularity, portability, and precarious security, mobile devices are easy entry-points for cybercriminals to target corporate data. Our range of unique products can provide next-generation endpoint security for mobile devices and apps against Android and iOS threats. Our patented cyberattack defense engine –z9™, which is driven by ML and AI, can thoroughly scan mobile devices for phishing, malware, fake WiFi networks, and many more threats without violating user privacy.

Further, we have created some new cutting-edge technologies - zScan and zShield specifically for protecting mobile apps. zScan enables organizations to analyze the privacy and security risks arising while developing code, whereas zShield helps organizations harden their apps against reverse engineering or code tampering.

Unlike our competitors who perform detection on-cloud, we believe the device protection is achieved better on device than via cloud


What is the value proposition that Zimperium’s product-line brings to the market?

Zimperium’s stand-alone application, zIPS™, provides on-device protection for mobile devices and their data. It is the world’s first mobile on-device Intrusion Prevention System app. In addition, we have a software development kit (SDK) called zDefend™ that can embed z9 into any mobile app, immediately protecting the app and all of its sessions from attacks. Many clients from the banking sector use zDefend as it allows them to enable their customers to have safe mobile banking experience, and total mobile security.

Our other product– zConsole™, which is a management, and reporting platform, offers threat forensics, policy administration, and integrations with EMM and SIEM solutions. In addition, our solution z3A™ persistently monitors any mobile apps that may expose employee devices to security and privacy risks. Through this broad portfolio of products, we not only help to fight threats but prevent them as well.

Unlike our competitors who perform all of their detection in the cloud, we believe the device protection is achieved better on-device. All our products conduct detection on-device.

What are some of the benefits that partners and clients can gain from Zimperium?

Zimperium is the global leader in mobile device and app security and is the only mobile security solution with on-device, machine learning-based detection of device, network, phishing and malicious app attacks.

Please cite a particular success story where you have helped a client mitigate cyber threats and proceed with their business growth?

Over the years, we have many instances of bringing success for customers. Some time back, we had a client from the banking sector. Leveraging zDefend, they could get visibility into their customers’ mobile-banking environments. This enabled them to save themselves from substantial fraud, which would have cost billions of dollars.

There is another interesting story that I would like to share. There is a super-sophisticated bus, well-equipped with facilities like free WiFi, that runs in and around San Francisco. It carries employees working in different organizations from nearby locations. One of our clients’ employees was also a frequent traveler on that bus as his phone had Zimperium applications installed in it. Zimperium was able to detect the fake WiFi or evil twin networks on the bus.

After investigating further into the matter, we found that there was a cybercriminal who broadcasted a fake WiFi to get access to the information stored in the employees’ devices, be it mobiles or laptops. Due to the agility of our application, we saved not only our customers but all the passengers traveling on the bus from being victims of cybercrime.

What do you envision as the next big move for the company? Do you plan to innovate and create more solutions in the upcoming time?

To date, Zimperium has garnered an excellent track record, and many market analysts of the cybersecurity space have identified us as undisputed leaders in this space.

This new year has opened the door for many opportunities as it seems that in 2020 companies will launch more digital business initiatives that depend on BYOD than ever before. Acknowledging that mobile devices, a significant part of the BYOD revolution, are under risks from pre-installed apps and apps which run on public platforms, we have created the Mobile App Protection Suite. In the near future, we plan on expanding this suite’s offerings. We will endeavor to provide more innovative solutions to secure our customers from all kinds of threats.

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