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OpenManage Mobile remote connection security

Dell EMC Technical White Paper

any information that would personally identify an individual OMM user or information on customer networks,

with the exception that the OMM client IP is logged temporarily for security purposes. The IP is not stored with

analytics data and is discarded after a reasonable period of time.

2.2 Alert Push notification security

Alerts sent by using push notifications pass through several systems before reaching a mobile device.

However, each step is secured as shown in Figure 2.

1. OME transmits alerts to Dell OpenManage Mobile Cloud Services (OMCS) via HTTPS as identified

by using a PKI certificate.

2. Based on the platform, alerts are sent by using HTTPS to Google Cloud Messaging (GCM), or by

using a binary protocol over TLS to the Apple Push Notification Service (APNS). Google and Apple

servers are also identified by a certificate.

3. Android and Apple devices connect to Google and Apple servers respectively over a secure channel

and retrieve the alert push notifications.

Only limited information such as the number of new alerts is available outside the OMM application.

Potentially-sensitive information such as alert message contents are not shown on the device notification bar,

app icons, or other mobile display areas.

Each mobile device supplies an application- and device-specific registration token to each OME server when

it subscribes for alerts. The token is sent to and used by OMCS to identify the device to GCM and APNS.

Without that token, no other service can send push notifications to that OMM instance.

Apple and Google use certificates and/or API keys to identify OMCS as being associated with the OMM app.

Similarly, OMCS identifies OME instances by using API key. OMM tracks the OME instances it is subscribed

to, so that it can discard alerts from subscriptions that have been removed. This helps prevent spurious or

unwanted notifications.

Dell EMC ensures that all alert messages are stored in volatile memory in order to create the push notification

payload. They are erased from OMCS as soon as the push notifications are sent.

Google Cloud

Messaging

OpenManage

Essentials

Server

OpenMange

Mobile Cloud

Services

Apple Push

Service

OpenManage

Mobile

(iOS)

Alert Push Notification Security