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As popular as Apple’s iPod has become, many companies are developing policies or installing software that prohibits employees from plugging them into work machines to download music and videos.

In an article at Search Security, Rob Israel, CIO of John C. Lincoln Health Network out of Phoenix, Arizona, said he has long feared that such mobile devices could install malware onto his network.

"Tons of things can happen with iPods if you don't have the proper security measures in place," he said. "People could take up valuable disc space with music and video uploads, there's a risk of copyright infringement, and you could also upload malware." There's also the risk that someone could load confidential network data onto an iPod.

Apple’s acknowledgment last week that some of their iPods were infected with malware only confirmed Rob Israel’s views. On its website Apple acknowledged that 1% of Video iPods were carrying the RavMonE.exe virus, which typically affects computers running Microsoft Windows.

"So far we have seen less than 25 reports concerning this problem," Apple said on its Web site. "The iPod nano, iPod shuffle and Mac OS X are not affected, and all video iPods now shipping are virus free." But this is likely not the last time malware turns up on an iPod.

Rob Israel said that employees at his company must fill out a “device approval” to plug portable devices at his company, but they aren’t likely to get approval for an iPod. He also noted that with so many computers at so many different locations, they needed something more than just an honor system to enforce company policy. As he said, "As we looked at our policy, we concluded we couldn't enforce it 100% with 2,000 machines across 15 locations. So we put devices in place to block the activity."

The device they used was an appliance from Luxembourg-based SecureWave that blocks port access and keeps people from downloading or uploading not only music but also images from digital cameras.

Posted by pschooff in Apple • Better Protection |Digg This|Add to del.icio.us

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