Article
Technology secures mobile devices in California county
World-famous for its wines, Napa County, Calif., is home to approximately 140,000 residents. The Napa County government serves residents through 21 departments, including Health and Human Services and Public Works.
Like most government organizations, Napa County looks for creative ways to get more work done with the same size workforce. So when employees started asking to use personal smartphones and tablets for work, the IT department saw it as an opportunity to increase efficiency.
But before allowing personal devices on the network, the county needed a way to protect sensitive information that would find its way onto devices, such as addresses of law enforcement officers and the identity of children receiving mental health services. Data security on devices also need to adhere to a number of local, state and federal regulations — including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and State of California data security requirements.
Napa County found its secure mobility solution in the Good Enterprise Suite, which creates a secure container for each work-related app on the device. Approximately 400 employees use it on personal or county-owned iPhones, iPads, Android, and Windows mobile devices. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Good Technology offers the security suite.
“In over six years of aggressive use, we have had no breach involving data stored on devices secured by Good,” says Gary Coverdale, Chief Information Security Officer and Assistant Chief Information Officer for Napa County. “You cannot have a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) deployment without a container approach.”
The security offering has also assisted the county in continuity of operations following emergencies. When a 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the area in August 2014, 500 employees couldn’t get to their office computers because of office flooding. But employees who had Good Enterprise Suite on a device could keep working. In one instance, Public Works Department staffers were able to retrieve work orders covering urgent repairs.
Napa County continues to use the security suite. The offering has enabled the county to implement and expand its BYOD efforts.
Learn more about Good Technology here.
_____________
To get connected and stay up-to-date with similar content from American City & County:
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Watch us on Youtube
