Mobile Security Threats Bring Opportunities for Big Business

I can’t blame employees who prefer using personal smartphones and tablets to access corporate data. Now that we have portable but potent devices to swap with the awkwardly-sized PCs, why not use it? Oh yes, these devices are not well-equipped against malware and other forms of cyber attacks. While this might sound like a bad thing, it’s not generally bad for everyone–for that’s exactly what security solutions providers are here for. The growing number of cyber threats means more work for them.

Since mobile devices are more often used outside the work place, it’s important to educate the users to install mobile security solutions like endpoint protection, encryption and specialized monitoring services. Aside from security providers taking advantage of this dilemma, it also provides an opportunity for consulting services and the development of mobile best practices, as well as a ringing consumer reminder for the proper usage of intricate passwords.

“The acceptance of data access from anywhere with any device will eventually be required,” said Jason Wingert, executive director at Cincinnati, Ohio-based PCMS Datafit. “The biggest mistake is not taking action now to prevent the security challenges [devices]create.”

Symantec’s “Consumerization of IT” survey reveals that 63 percent of respondents said their company allows employees to use their preferred smartphones for work-related activities; 95 percent of which said their company allows them to use their work-related smartphones for personal use; while only 51 percent said their employers have informed them of mobile policies and best practices to secure their mobile units. Among the many mobile threats going on, accidental data loss proves itself to be the most prevalent.

“The most common security problems on mobile devices continue to be the mundane ones, losing your phone, having it stolen or dropping it in a lake. Good backups are always the first thing to worry about,” said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure.

Moreover, enterprise organizations are given a tough time coping with the explosion of disparate mobile devices used in the workplace. “Today, the issue is really management. It’s being able to say yes to these devices and determining what they’re saying yes to,” said John Engels, principle group product manager of enterprise mobility at Symantec.  ”What are they going to do when people leave the organization? That’s where mobile management seems to be the critical point for many customers.”

Mobile malware is a growing threat, but it still remains a smaller chunk of the huge problem. Kaspersky malware researcher Tim Armstrong said that researchers detected around 40,000 pieces of PC malware per day, compared to the 4,000 total pieces of mobile malware that are currently circulating on the Internet. Still, it is a growing threat with security greatly loose compared to that of PCs.

“Compared to the PC market, where almost every PC user has a security program installed, the use of security applications in mobile devices is not widespread. Thus, although the threat posed by malware to the mobile handset is likely to be less, the need for protection will be driven by the threat of data loss and theft,” said Nitin Bhas, research analyst at Juniper Networks. “Most enterprise-owned devices have access to corporate networks and data. This is proving to be the biggest potential threat vector.”

We’ve seen cyber attacks in many forms. Even Osama bin Laden’s death didn’t escape the venomous fingers of hackers, masking malware behind photoshopped images of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, and player upgrade prompts to view death-of-Osama-related videos. Sony’s Playstation Network recently went down after an unauthorized person stole names, addresses and credit card data of some 77 million account holders, marking one of the most severe hacking incidents in history.

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