Tag: mobile security news

French companies seek to address security issues

Two French security contractors are preparing to dive into the mobile security space after the revelation of widespread government surveillance in 2013. The companies have identified a need for comprehensive security solutions in the mobile space, but are not only looking to mitigate government surveillance. There are made threats in the mobile world that extend well beyond the issue of surveillance, especially as mobile commerce becomes more popular. Both companies believe they can address these issues effectively in the near future.

Bull launches new mobile solution for businesses

Bull SA is one of the companies entering into the mobile security space. The company has launched a new mobile-centric solution for businesses called Hoox m2. The solution is available for the Android platform and has been engineered with hackers in mind. It is meant to secure communications made over mobile devices and remove the need for business professionals to speak in “unnecessary coded language.”

Thales aims to make business and personal communications safer

Thales SA, a defense contractor owned by the French government, is also breaking into the mobile security space. The firm has released an enterprise solution called Teopad. The solution is meant to make a digital mirror image of whatever device it is used on. One of the instances created by Teopad will be used for personal communications while the other will be used for business purposes. The business instance will be secured by Teopad’s encryption so as to prevent sensitive information from being stolen.

Businesses fall behind when it comes to mobile security

Mobile security is quickly becoming a top priority for businesses. Mobile technology has grown quite important to consumers and many businesses have fallen behind in terms of ensuring that they are secure against the threats that exist in the mobile space. Both Bull and Thales believe they can offer businesses solutions that can help them catch up to the growing popularity of mobile technology and protect themselves against malicious groups and mobile exploitation.

This is exacerbated by the number of devices that remain unprotected.

Mobile security solutions providers are already struggling with the practices of many clients through their BYOD initiatives – which are becoming increasingly common – but a new report has indicated that the problem is growing on a large number of levels.

The report indicates that cybersecurity threats have taken off over the last two years, particularly in smartphones.

The study was conducted by Juniper Research Ltd., a firm based in the United Kingdom, and indicated that mobile security threats have taken off over the last couple of years and despite that fact, the majority of smartphones still remain nearly entirely unprotected.

This is because mobile security threats are starting to change in their primary focus.

Although cyber criminals had initially transferred their focus from PCs to mobile devices for consumers, they are starting to concentrate on the enterprise space to a growing degree. By the end of this year, it is expected that there will be one million types of mobile malware that will be thriving by the end of 2013.

In fact, the analysts at Juniper determined that over 80 percent of all consumer and enterprise owned smartphones will continue to be unprotected throughout the remainder of the year, despite the large exposure and considerable threat of malware. The slow mobile security protection is the result of low awareness among device users to the vulnerabilities, and the overall perception that these devices are too expensive to protect.

These findings were published in Juniper’s “Mobile Security: BYOD, mCommerce, Consumer &Enterprise 2013-2018” report. Within that report, Juniper divided the online landscape for mobile security threats down into various different segments. Approximately 70 percent of the threats were found to be able to steal a smartphone owner’s personal data that is stored on the device. An additional 20 percent of these types of malware are forms of adware and spyware that need the permission of the user for installation and that then proceed to collect device location, personal data, or usage behavior.

Though the mobile security situation may look bad, the report did indicate that there is a growth in awareness and that this is beginning to have an impact on the attitudes and behaviors of device users in securing their gadgets.