Forced to set passcode lock

Has anyone had this happen?

Earlier today both my iphone and one of my co-worker's iphone forced us to set a passcode lock before we could continue receiving sync'd emails. We both have work emails through Exchange synched to our phones... could this be a new forced security thing?

When going into settings, I can't even turn off the passcode lock.... the option to turn it on and off has dissapeared!