Recycling firm makes mobile systems secure

LondonWaste locks down PDAs and phones

Recycling and refuse disposal firm LondonWaste has installed mobile security systems to keep information on its PDAs safe.

The company, which collects waste from homes and businesses in north London, is working with mobile phone operator

Orange to ensure that corporate information does not fall into the wrong hands if handheld computers are lost or stolen.

Using Orange’s Office Freedom mobile email service, London Waste has been able to guarantee that only executives and salespeople with permission can link their PDAs and smartphones to the corporate network, to check messages and update diaries.

‘We have commercially sensitive information,’ said Mark Beattie, head of information technology at London Waste. ‘Knowing how much money we are asking for as part of a new business bid would be valuable information for a competitor if it fell into the wrong hands.’

Security features in the Orange mobile email systems allow the recycling company to password-protect devices, and to delete access to email accounts remotely should a handheld device be stolen.