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Security concerns for smartphones

By Hope Needles

An article in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal highlights some of the security concerns facing the corporate community as mobile devices, namely smartphones, become increasingly advanced.

According to the article, smartphones are indeed catching up to desktop computers in terms of technology and sophistication. Therefore, in a society where mobile phones serve as multi-functional devices for retrieving email, news, music and video content, there is a growing risk of this information being mishandled.

Sophisticated smartphones that run their own operating systems and e-mail applications are particularly attractive targets. Cyberthieves, for example, have begun to aggressively mine corporate databases, in search of undisclosed financial data, or design and engineering information, which they can then sell for a profit. According to Phil Dunkelberger, CEO of the security software company PGP, “The really big money now is going to be in stealing intellectual property.”

Many companies, such as John C. Lincoln Health Network in Phoenix, have started to address these concerns by blocking employees from uploading or downloading files to the company’s internal network. Other corporations have rolled out similar measures designed to limit employee access to internal servers via mobile connections.

These types of precautions are intended to prevent information leaks, and lessen the potential for viruses designed exclusively for mobile phones. So far, there have been between 300 to 500 known versions of malware detected. (Malware is spread to phones via email attachments or chat messages, which prompt the user to download an application.) As the article points out, these viruses can be especially detrimental because they can also be transferred via wireless connections and Bluetooth technology. Generally, the most vicious malware viruses originate in third-party applications such as games and ringtones.

So what can consumers do to protect their phones? The best strategy seems to be following the same common-sense logic that applies to PC virus protection.

For example, if prompted to download an application, make sure that this message is coming from a known and trusted source. Furthermore, the potential for mobile viruses can be reduced by installing virus protection software for smart phones, such as the programs designed by Symantec and McAfee.

As smart phones continue to advance, it doesn’t appear likely that these threats to security will go away any time soon. Therefore, it may be wise for cell phone providers to start pre-installing virus protection software for consumers. Smartphone users might also benefit from setting a boot password and a main password as extra precautions against hackers.

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 Filed under Mobile technology |