Apple's iOS 9 May Cut Off Mobile Employees From a Corporate VPN

Apple has made significant strides in getting some of its mobile devices adopted by large enterprises, but a problem in iOS 9 could cause issues for information workers who want to access their corporate network via a virtual private network (VPN).

Cisco posted a Facebook alert about the flaw, which remains in the most current version of iOS 9 and involves a malfunction in the Tunnel All DNS option in Cisco’s AnyConnect VPN product. It means remote workers may not be able to access some servers, although not necessarily all of them.

The iOS 9 bug is not limited to Cisco AnyConnect but potentially affects many similar products, as well, according to InfoWorld. It’s an issue that could prove frustrating for iPhone or iPad users who decided to upgrade to Apple’s latest mobile OS early since they would now have to figure out a way to move back to iOS 8.4.1, which is immune to the VPN connectivity flaw.

ZDNet said the only option is for iOS 9 users to first ensure they have backed up their device using iTunes. Although some might have assumed iCloud would be the more logical tool for this task, iTunes has a restore feature that can essentially make it seem like the upgrade never happened — and, perhaps more importantly, get them the corporate access they need.

Ironically, Apple and others have been working hard to prove that iOS 9 is one of the most secure mobile platforms in the industry, FierceMobileIT pointed out. This includes the ability for IT administrators to push apps to employee devices without going through the App Store or relying on an Apple ID, and the ability to integrate with enterprise mobile management software. An inability to get into the corporate network via VPN, however, may have IT departments putting off upgrades until a newer iteration of the beta is available.

Softpedia said that the iOS 9 bug could have something to do with the way some companies set up a particular VPN. Over time, this flaw will no doubt be resolved by Apple, but it shows that companies moving to a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy may need to think through potential connectivity snags as they allow employees more choice over the kinds of technologies they use.

Shane Schick

Writer & Editor

What we can learn from the best collegiate cyber defenders

3 min read - This year marked the 19th season of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC). For those unfamiliar, CCDC is a competition that puts student teams in charge of managing IT for a fictitious company as the network is undergoing a fundamental transformation. This year the challenge involved a common scenario: a merger. Ten finalist teams were tasked with managing IT infrastructure during this migrational period and, as an added bonus, the networks were simultaneously attacked by a group of red…

A spotlight on Akira ransomware from X-Force Incident Response and Threat Intelligence

7 min read - This article was made possible thanks to contributions from Aaron Gdanski.IBM X-Force Incident Response and Threat Intelligence teams have investigated several Akira ransomware attacks since this threat actor group emerged in March 2023. This blog will share X-Force’s unique perspective on Akira gained while observing the threat actors behind this ransomware, including commands used to deploy the ransomware, active exploitation of CVE-2023-20269 and analysis of the ransomware binary.The Akira ransomware group has gained notoriety in the current cybersecurity landscape, underscored…

New proposed federal data privacy law suggests big changes

3 min read - After years of work and unsuccessful attempts at legislation, a draft of a federal data privacy law was recently released. The United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce released the American Privacy Rights Act on April 7, 2024. Several issues stood in the way of passing legislation in the past, such as whether states could issue tougher rules and if individuals could sue companies for privacy violations. With the American Privacy Rights Act of 2024, the U.S. government established…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

More from

What we can learn from the best collegiate cyber defenders

A spotlight on Akira ransomware from X-Force Incident Response and Threat Intelligence

New proposed federal data privacy law suggests big changes

Topic updates