A Peek Under the [Data] Hood: A Day in the Life of a Data Management Engine
By JP Brocket, Mobolize | Senior Director, Product Management
Our Data Management Engine supports every major OS and runs on a wide range of devices. The rapid shift to remote/hybrid work accelerated the need for all companies, no matter the size, to always protect employee devices from the ever expanding and shifting online threat landscape no matter where they are and or what device they are using.
Resident on mobile devices, the Data Management Engine intelligently manages data traffic to enable and expand our partner’s mobile solutions to meet today’s security and connectivity needs. Although we customize our solution to meet the specific needs of every customer deployment, including authentication and polices, they are all powered by the same Date Management Engine core code. Having a common core code across all OS’s enables our partners to include mobile devices much easier than dealing with the complexities of multiple code bases.
But what does our Data Management Engine really do? I thought the best way was to explain what a typical day is like for the DME of a compliance consultant contractor, Sam. Sam is doing work for a top financial industry company and uses his own personal laptop, tablet, and smartphone to execute the job. This is commonly known as BYOD (bring your own device) versus having a company IT managed device issued. The company provides the downloadable mobile clients that protect Sam’s devices and enable access to company assets, all powered by our Data Management Engine.
Here’s a day in the life of a Data Management Engine – Every Tuesday morning Sam needs to be onsite at the company headquarters then can work remote the rest of the day. The company has strong onsite network security at HQ and uses Zero Trust for remote access. Let’s jump into the day with Sam and the Data Management Engine.
Morning: On his tablet, Sam checks the morning news, social media and company emails before the commute to work. He also downloads a file he needs to work on from a colleague. The Data Management Engine scans all the DNS traffic against online threats – no trouble so far. Single sign-on is completed and Sam’s on the company email portal where the Data Management Engine encrypts this traffic with a custom cert so the company security system can execute full payload inspection. All other traffic is sent to the origin if no threats are detected on the DNS scan. Sam typically connects with 30+ links so the beginning of the day can be quite busy for his Data Management Engine.
Commute time: Sam needs coffee and snacks before work and decides to order online using the coffee smartphone app. While waiting to pick up the coffee, Sam’s smartphone connects to the coffee shop public Wi-Fi as he checks 20 new emails (some containing files regarding today’s project) and the Data Management Engine starts encrypting all HTTP traffic while allowing the HTTPS traffic to go direct to origin.
Company HQ time: Sam checks emails and schedules on his Smartphone while walking into the main HQ building where his phone connects to the company Wi-Fi. The Data Management Engine detects the local network (company Wi-Fi) is protected and falls back to local immediately and seamlessly for continued protection. Sam nails his compliance report working with those downloaded files, then wants to message his partner about lunch plans. He shuts off the Wi-Fi radio on his Smartphone for privacy (company Wi-Fi is always watching after all). The Data Management Engine immediately enables off-net DNS protection while Sam messages and checks the reviews to make reservations. What’s this? Click here for a buy-one-get-one-free-meal at my favorite place? Sam taps on the link and immediately sees a notification on the device the ‘link was blocked for your protection – Phishing’. Sam almost fell victim to an attack but the DME stopped it and informed Sam immediately.
Work from home: After lunch Sam decides to work from his home office which includes using his tablet on the patio. The Data Management Engine is very busy running three Zero Trust micro-tunnels (company email portal, audit app and company trading app), checking device/OS status (software up to date, no compromise) and DNS scanning to keep the tablet protected while also allowing Sam to connect to the home printer and home security cameras on the LAN.
End of the Data Management Engine’s Day: Sam checks a file with comments on his compliance report (good ones, of course) and 15 more emails for work and a dozen personal ones before he goes to bed and puts down his laptop, tablet and smartphone. The Data Management Engine has had a busy day with 2.7k DNS scans, 752mb encrypted traffic on public Wi-Fi, continuous monitoring of device status and network signals to maintain single sign-on for company apps and services which transmitted 1.3gb of encrypted data for full payload inspection. It also saved Sam from at least one phishing attack.
Always on, seamlessly protected and connected at home, at the office and on the go. The Data Management Engine has you covered on all your devices everywhere you go. It’s the real set it and forget it hero of Zero Trust and protection against all online threats.
