14 DAY TRIAL // With less than a week left until the release of Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview, Microsoft has launched the whitepaper of the security features included in the new mobile operating system.
The new features are all listed in a PDF document where those who wish can find more details on the improvements that Microsoft included in the Windows Phone 8.1 in terms of security.
According to Microsoft, “from highly secure identity features, such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) with virtual smart cards and PINs to its defense-in-depth, multilayered approach that addresses organizational security requirements in numerous ways, Windows Phone 8.1 is designed with security in mind.”
The Redmond-based company further explains that Windows Phone fans and developers can now explore these features in more detail and learn more about the Windows Phone 8.1 before the new platform is pushed live for the general public.
The security features included in the recently released document are organized by importance, so you may notice that while some will be tagged as “common” security features, others will appear as improvements to these common security features.
Microsoft goes on to say that Windows Phone 8.1 “shares many of the same underlying components, including those related to security, as Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 operating systems, it offers predictability, reliability, and commonality in how Windows Phone 8.1 devices can be used and managed in an enterprise environment.”
Some of the most important security-related improvements included in Windows Phone 8.1 are already known, but here is a quick recap for those who have not read our previous articles.
First and foremost, Windows Phone 8.1 users will be able to take advantage of VPN. The new platform has support for VPN tunnel types and users can configure Windows Phone to automatically initiate VPN connections in certain situations.
Remote Assistance is another new feature that allows users to remotely lock or ring a device, as well as remotely reset the user password (PIN).
Support for enterprise Wi-Fi connectivity has been added as well, so in addition to the already existing Wi-Fi connection support, users will now have access to Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)-Transport Layer Security (TLS) and other protocols, which require stronger authentication than using preshared keys (PSKs) or other Wi-Fi authentication methods.
For more in-depth details on the new security features included in the Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, you can now download the “Windows Phone 8.1 Security Overview” via Microsoft.