How Secure is the Apple iPad?

Day 2 of the buzz about Apple’s tablet-sized iPad device seemed to be devoted to what the gizmo did not have. It doesn’t support Adobe’s Flash, for instance; the casing is too thick; it doesn’t have a camera; its virtual keyboard isn’t that great (Gizmodo and Forbes have weighed in with their gripes.)

PC World, however, takes a different tack: It wonders whether the iPad will become a mainstay with enterprise businesses, given that it contains a couple of vulnerabilities.


The magazine notes that Apple offers a customized version of the iWork suite for the iPad, including word processing and spreadsheets. It also comes with the Safari browser. But it “has limited manageability and security features, which could be a concern for enterprises looking to manage the device remotely, analysts said,” writes Agam Shah in PC World’s affiliate IDG News Service.

For example, if the iPad were lost or stolen and it had sensitive work-related data on it, “there is no way for IT administrators to deploy a push policy that locks it, said Chris Hazelton, research director for mobile and wireless technologies at The 451 Group.” There is such a feature on the iPhone.

The device also doesn’t support VPN functionality or Microsoft Exchange, making it difficult for IT administrators to keep a handle on company e-mails.


PC World also took the time Thursday to point out that even searching for news about the hot new property could make computer users vulnerable to scammers. Erik Larkin writes in his blog that iPad search results may contain “poisoned links” that can lead to bogus antivirus software. Scammers may use SEO tactics with terms like “apple tablet announcement” to ensnare unsuspecting users.