The giants around the world are now giving their efforts to combat threats and spam a boost.

According to the results of a recent mobile security protection forecast report from Infonetics Research, there will be a number of new efforts put into place in order to help to do battle with the increasing amount of spam and number of threats from unethical marketers and cyber criminals.

The report has provided tracking of SMS and multimedia messaging service (MMS) security gateways.

According to the Infonetics Research principal analyst for security, Jeff Wilson, the popularity of the use of SMS and MMS has increased considerably over the last ten years. However, it is only just now that carriers around the world are starting to pay attention to mobile security protection and the deployment of SMS and MMS security gateway solutions. He said that these giants have been “forced by economic, regulatory, and attack conditions.”

The mobile security protection trend is also a response to growing regulatory pressure.

Wilson also pointed out that major carriers within specific regions are looking at solutions for this purpose. As an example, he pointed out the adoption of Cloudmark/TeleDNA which was recently deployed in India.

Among the other points that were published in the report are as follows:

• Approximately 10 trillion SMS and MMS messages are sent each year. This presents a broadening opportunity for cyber criminals to hack and send spam.
• Carriers are boosting their mobile security protection spending on gateway solutions that are meant to stop spam and threats in SMS/MMS.
• Throughout the length of 2013, it is believed that there was a 70 percent increase in the size of the SMS/MMS security market when compared to 2012, bringing it to $70 million.
• AdaptiveMobile and Cloudmark have become the current leaders in revenue within this specific market space.
• This year will be bringing consolidation within the industry for SMS/MMS security gateways. This will bring focus to the different players that already exist as well as those entering into the space, and will be built on a foundation supported by major networking/telecom equipment suppliers.

Steven Toporoff, who is one of The Federal Trade Commission’s attorneys, stated in a New York Times article that in 2012 more than 22,000 identity theft complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerned minors. Toporoff also added that child identity theft is a persistent problem. However, it is difficult to assess the magnitude of this problem because parents are usually unaware that anything is wrong until their child becomes a young adult.

A report conducted by Hart Research Associates shows that 51 percent of the teens surveyed are extremely concerned about someone stealing their identity using information they have posted online. Parents can learn how to protect their children from identity theft and what to do if their child’s identity is stolen at the FTC’s website.

Create Rules for Internet Use

1. Your family’s attitude about Internet safety must be clear and concise. It should never waiver.
2. Inform your teen which sites she can visit and which she cannot. She also needs to know what apps and social media sites are OK to use.
3. Be sure to set privacy settings on her social media sites to monitor whom she is communicating with in her digital world.
4. Regulate the amount of time she spends online by setting log off times.
5. Protect her identity by locking her credit report.
6. Use monitoring software like Spytech SpyAgent ($70), AVG Family Safety ($50/year) or Spectorsoft Spector Pro ($100) to deter negative behavior.
7. Remind her to think before she posts because once she posts it, she cannot take it back.
8. Have her set her social media privacy settings to “friends only.”
9. Do not use location-based services online.
10. Avoid providing optional information.

Technology is continually changing so you must be able to recognize the current trends and possible dangers. Identity theft prevention is possible but you need to know the warning signs for other online and mobile dangers, such as cyber-bullying, sexting and sexual solicitation. Your teen might be at risk if she:

• obsesses over the Internet
• gets angry when she is unable to get online
• is secretive about her online activities
• receives phone calls or gifts from strangers
• engages in unhealthy relationships
• withdraws from friends and loved ones
• injures herself
• seems depressed
• starts abusing substances
• shows signs of an eating disorder (binging and purging)

3 Extremely Popular but Dangerous Apps

1. Vine by Twitter: Popular with teens, this video sharing app allows users to make and share looping videos. The problem is that once your teen obtains this app she will be able to access videos that may contain sexually explicit content. Viewing videos is only a portion of the problem as your teen may decide to create and then share mature content of her own. Because Vine allows for finding users nearby, it is essentially a predator’s playground.

2. Tinder: This is a dating app that functions like a game. This app is about hooking up, and the age restriction is a mere 12 years old. Once the app is installed, it invites your teen to post a photo of herself. The app requests access to her location. Once completed, she can browse the profiles of people in her area to see if she likes anyone. If she does, she taps the green heart. If he likes her back, she will receive a notification and a chat feature opens up so they can communicate with one another.

This app has several red flags:

• It accesses your teen’s location to help her find someone to meet up with in real life.
• Anyone can like her, which can lead to temptation.
• This app is the perfect tool for pedophiles and predators to find their victims.

3. Snapchat: This messaging service allows users to send photos with text to other Snapchat members. These photos and messages vanish within 10 seconds of receipt. However, if the recipient has downloaded Snap Hack, he can save any photo he receives through Snapchat to his camera roll. With Snap Hack, he can view and edit the photo any way he wishes.