Launched last year, Lookout Labs delivers its fourth interactive app that allows you to zoom through time watching thousands of sparks light up the globe, each one representing a real person protected by Lookout. The app will allow you to see the plethora of threats identified by Lookout every day, as well as answer questions that plague today’s mobile user such as: “Are there really mobile threats?” “How many mobile threats are there?” “What are the most common mobile threats?”

The new Mobile Threat Tracker is actually an impressive visualization of the data Lookout already measures, turning its database into a consumer tool.  It’s an interesting delivery of intelligence for today’s mobile world, and Lookout’s dedication to Android has been an ongoing beacon for a platform that can’t seem to escape the worst of mobile malware.  What makes the Mobile Threat Tracker stand out is its ability to show not only the volume of threats and their regional break down, but a history timeline as well.

Incorporating readily accessible historic data is of growing importance for data analysis and visualization, and with new capabilities within big data trends, we’re seeing historic data being layered into more analysis tools.  “It’s a hugely important aspect to an app like this,” explains Derek Halliday, Lookout’s Senior Security Product Manager.  “You don’t want to trod along and not learn from past trends.

“You can look at what types of malware are happening at what frequencies and what duration–yearly, weekly and daily trends…what are the most popular days and times of the week malware’s being published to marketplaces–it’s integral.”

A fresh look at data

Given the emphasis on data visualization, I found Lookout’s back story on the Mobile Threat Tracker pretty interesting.  It actually spawned from the imaginative mind of an intern working at Lookout last summer, and turned out to be a great nexus for all that Lookout represents.  It’s a great consumer education tool, an area Lookout’s been keen on given the new era of mobile malware, and it really demonstrates the power of Lookout’s data analysis, which also enables them to predict upcoming threats in order to better protect mobile users.   As far as the technology behind the visualization goes, Lookout provides some additional details:

“For the visualization in the Mobile Threat Tracker, we started at the whiteboard to get an idea for what we wanted to build and how it might function on devices with a limited-size screen. We built several prototypes in Processing, which is a programming environment that makes it easy to quickly explore graphics and interactive visuals (processing.org), made some mockups of the final product in Photoshop, and then began to program the app for Android directly.”

Lookout pushes boundaries

Lookout Labs came to life to push the boundaries of mobile, as well as create and launch new mobile products. The result is countless mobile users having recovered their lost mobile devices using apps like Plan B, receiving alerts when there’s a new mobile threat, and gaining useful information about software like the debatable Carrier IQ.

Lookout Mobile Security predicts there will be even more mobile malware in 2012. They pointed out two major drivers for malware writers, along with the type of malware that comes with them. They also identified the most generic missteps people take that endangers their cyber security. Here are some of the biggest mobile security issues in 2011.

Lookout also recently partnered with Telstra for its global expansion. It has also managed to extend its operations to Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

“Mobile threats don’t discriminate based on where you are. They tend to be global, affecting people around the world,” said Lookout CEO and co-founder, John Hering. “We are providing a simple way for people to protect their most personal devices. Australia, Canada and the UK will be the first of many countries where Lookout will deliver an adapted experience.”

contributors: Kristina Farrah