Outsourcing giant Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), announced this week the adoption of a robust security system for corporate handheld mobile devices, provided by security firm Pointsec Mobile Technologies, a subsidiary of Scandinavia-based Protect Data Group.

In addition to using the Pointsec security for its own European staff, CSC will be selling the technology—which provides both secure authentication and encryption—to its customers. In fact, CSC claims a deal with a major (but un-named) healthcare organization followed shortly on the heels of this week's announcement of the basic deal.

According to studies quoted by Protect Data, approximately one half of all data on corporate handhelds is completely without security protection. Furthermore, about 25 percent of enterprise users polled claim that their PDAs have been either lost or stolen, a chilling figure in a world in which organizations increasingly rely on mobile computing for productivity gains.

A CSC spokesperson observed that the company's rigorous research had identified Pointsec as the organization best suited to provide a "complete end-to-end mobility solution that would deliver us and our clients optimum TCO benefits and best suit our strategic business goals."