iPad Demand Accelerates Security Policies

When the Federal Aviation Administration launched a test program for tablet computers in December, Administrator Randy Babbitt was the first in line.

Babbitt traded in his hefty three-ring binder of briefing notes for an ultrathin iPad loaded with pages of reference points for meetings and international trips. The small pilot with Babbitt and a few executives has grown to include dozens of test teams and more than 300 tablet devices — mainly iPads — throughout FAA and even in the cockpit, said Chief Information Officer Dave Bowen.

The agency plans to adopt security and acquisition standards for iPads by Oct. 1 so they can be bought throughout the agency, Bowen said. "We want to make sure that we have processes in place to make sure that people don't willy-nilly go out and buy these things," he said.

The fear of government data being swiped from the devices or employees leaving them in the backseat of a taxi has forced CIOs and their security officers to find secure ways for using the hand-held tablets. Software embedded in the technology can allow administrators to remotely wipe a device clean of all government data, control what employees download, and separate personal email and Internet browsing from government business.