The German regional newspaper, LZ operates its mobile phones 100% in accordance with GDPR
The German regional newspaper, Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide takes the protection of personal data seriously, so it comes as no surprise that they also wanted a GDPR-compliant MDM (mobile device management) solution. By choosing Cortado MDM, the publishing house found the perfect solution. It now operates its mobile phones with the Cortado software which is fully compliant with data protection laws.
The Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide, based in Lüneburg in the north of Germany, is a typical regional newspaper which was first published on January 15, 1946. Reporters working then could certainly not imagine sharing the latest news from the scene immediately via Twitter or Facebook. And if they had, they probably would not have foreseen something such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
How different it is for today’s team. By using social media channels via a smartphone, anyone can inadvertently violate data protection regulations. At least if, as on most smartphones, private and professional contacts are not clearly separated.
Once GDPR was fully introduced in May 2018, the newspaper publisher felt obliged to securely manage the mobile devices of its employees in accordance with the law. Companies are legally bound to prevent private apps, often those apps which are not managed by the central IT department, from having access to business contacts. WhatsApp is the classic rulebreaker, and the messenger service is likely installed on nearly every employee’s smartphone. It automatically mixes private and business contacts in the same contact list. This is a violation against GDPR, and both private and business areas must be kept separate from each other.
Distribute G Suite Mail Accounts to iPhones
The newspaper has recently accomplished this with Cortado’s mobile device management. A member of the IT team at the regional newspaper said:
“Cortado MDM is highly intuitive to use. It also allows us to distribute our G Suite mail accounts, which didn’t work when tested with other solutions.”
Currently, the publisher uses the e-mail program Gmail and the calendar function available in G Suite – Google’s suite of cloud-based tools and solutions. Functionality on Android devices is not an issue, but what about on iPhones? Most editors have an Apple device, and a total of almost 30 are in use at the publishing house. Before Cortado, the newspaper’s IT department tried using a different MDM solution. “The G Suite accounts ran on iPhones, but they couldn’t be integrated,” the IT specialist explained. “It wasn’t possible to map the ActiveSync protocol from Microsoft, i.e. to activate e-mails, contacts, calendars and task synchronization – or at least only in an outdated version that is not compatible with the Google ActiveSync protocol. So, the two didn’t fit together.” As the newspaper didn’t have an Exchange infrastructure that was compatible with the specific requirements of the MDM system, a more flexible solution was required.
The national newspaper quickly found Cortado when searching for a suitable solution and tried out the system via a test account. “The setup was really easy,” said the IT administrator. “After a quarter-hour webcast, we could set up the devices immediately. For iOS devices, the software is ideal if you’re a Google customer and want to manage your Google accounts on iOS.” The newspaper then opted for the cloud-based Cortado MDM. One advantage is that you don’t have to worry about Apple’s push certificates and their renewal. Everything is already preinstalled in the cloud service and is extremely simple from an administrative point of view. Apps, e-mail, WI-FI and VPN are rolled out and managed automatically by Cortado MDM.
Separation Of Private and Business Data
The IT department configures the newspaper’s G Suite accounts in the MDM system. The settings are then rolled out to the iOS devices so that the applications stored in Google, and especially the contacts, are encapsulated in a secure area. Once the account is created, users can access the encapsulated area in their telephone app without any problems. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger no longer have access to business contacts and there is no connection between the two areas which ensures full privacy compliance.
For the end user, both private and business contacts are available as usual in the native contacts app. However, private applications like WhatsApp can no longer “see” or process the business contacts due to the separation created by Cortado MDM. For example, at the newspaper, editors can push messages on Facebook without hesitation because the social media service is unable to access the contacts. And professional e-mails are also protected from being read by privately used applications, WhatsApp for example, by the separation of business and private data.
The newspaper also uses the MDM system in other areas – Cortado MDM enables the IT department to centrally administer, lock, set up and remotely maintain iPhones and iPads.
The “Landeszeitung für die Lüneburger Heide”, is a German daily regional newspaper whose first edition appeared in January 1946 and which works with a local editorial staff. Its headquarters are in Lüneburg, the distribution area includes Lüneburg itself, and the towns of Tespe, Bienenbüttel, Bad Bevensen and Salzhausen. All local reports are written within the region. A mix of local, regional, supra-regional and international topics keeps readers informed about all relevant news topics.
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