Intel Security is now calling for improved cybersecurity education resources in the United Kingdom.

Hundreds of thousands of university students in the United Kingdom use no mobile security whatsoever on their smartphones. As a result, they are living their devices – and everything they contain – at a high risk of unauthorized access.

Intel Security is hoping to reach more students with a message of the importance of adequate mobile protection.

This year’s estimates were that there were more than 420,000 students in the United Kingdom headed to university with the start of this school year. However, a new Intel Security poll has pointed out that only half of them will have packed adequate smartphone protection with them when they go. This means that the other half of the university students in the U.K. have no mobile security software installed to protect their devices and their data.

With no mobile security software, these students are placing their devices at a very real risk.

The reason is that among those who took part in the poll, 90 percent said they log onto public WiFi. Those hotspots are accessed both on campus and off campus. This activity places them at a much higher exposure to mobile security threats. Without any protection software, they are essentially an open book for unauthorized parties to read.

Furthermore, according to the most recent data from the McAfee Labs Quarterly Threat Report, mobile malware is increasing at an explosive rate. Year over year, these mobile cybersecurity threats have risen by 150 percent.

On the other hand, while students may not have protected their devices yet, they are willing to learn. University students in the U.K. have expressed a desire to discover more about why having no mobile security is risky. They are also willing to learn more about related issues. Forty eight percent of the 1000 students who participated in the survey said they would be willing to attend an online security seminar if one were available.

According to Nick Viney, Intel Security VP consumer, this is a positive step, “Yet its concerning that many are still opening themselves up to risks unknowingly. When it comes to students’ online safety, we all have a responsibility.”

The bPay compatible product has been designed to make this service available to a larger number of devices.

Case Station, a manufacturer of smartphone cases, has now created a product that enables NFC mobile payments. This product has integrated with the bPay contactless payments from Barclaycard. The goal is to make it possible for people whose smartphones are not equipped with near field communication to use the technology.

NFC mobile purchases can be done with a quick tap of a smartphone at contactless checkout terminals.

Though a large number of companies have offered NFC mobile payments transaction options, the number of smartphone users who have the technology for these services are in the minority. After all, without an NFC technology chip, the device simply isn’t compatible.

A statement from Barclaycard explained that “All the Case Station cases have been created to discreetly hold a small bPay contactless chip, which will allow users to make touch and go payments for £30 and under (US$39.73) easily and quickly without fumbling for cash or entering a PIN wherever they see the contactless symbol.”

With the NFC mobile payments compatible case, even a phone without the tech can be made compatible.

The payment giant went on to say that the Android and iOS apps for the mobile payments service will not only allow transactions to be completed but also tracked. The bPay chip is connected to a mobile wallet which can be used by consumers with Visa or MasterCard debit or credit cards registered in the United Kingdom.

In this way, consumers can add funds to their mobile wallets by way of the app or online via the bPay website. They can also take advantage of an automatic top-up function which will add funds to the mobile wallet whenever that balance drops below a chosen level.

The Case Station product is technically a smartphone protector case. They are compatible with smartphone models from the LG, Samsung Galaxy and iPhone lines. They also contain the NFC mobile payments chip necessary to use near field communication transactions. They are being sold in a range of different color and pattern options to make them attractive as well as functional.