Tag: mobile security survey

Mobile security confidence will be key to m-commerce adoption

| November 15, 2013

A recent study has shown that customers are not interested in shopping over smartphones until they feel safe.

Businesses that are hoping to be able to take full advantage of what m-commerce has to offer are, according to a recent report based on a study, going to need to do a better job at showing consumers that they can trust in mobile security.

Many smartphone owners simply do not feel that it is safe enough to share their details to buy over these devices.

Though many people are still looking at products on their smartphones, in addition to other shopping behaviors such as comparing prices, they are still much more comfortable making purchases from their laptops and desktops than they are using m-commerce, simply because they do not yet have faith in mobile security. This, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance and PayPal’s results of the 2013 National Online Safety Study.

The report suggests that mobile security should be a prime focus for convincing consumers to use m-commerce.

Mobile Security and mobile commerceWhat the report revealed was that 36 percent of respondents were feeling mobile security concerns when it came to shopping over their smartphones and tablets. However, at the same time, only 22 percent of the participants had taken the precaution of installing a protection app into their device beyond whatever was included in the manufacturer initially installed. There were far more game apps installed than those meant for protecting the device.

According to the National Cyber Security Alliance executive director, Michael Kaiser, “Many people just start using a mobile device without always taking the time to implement safety or security measures.” He added that by making sure that mobile security software has been installed and that it includes a program that can wipe out the data the phone contains if it is ever lost or stolen, and by locking the device with a password, greater peace of mind can be achieved.

Aside from mobile security, there were also large concerns identified regarding the risk that someone else would be able to make a purchase with their device if it was ever lost or stolen. That said, only 34 percent locked their devices with a pin or password.

Mobile security research from AT&T shows most businesses are proactive

| June 16, 2013

The study indicated that approximately 90 percent of companies are making a concerted effort.

The findings from the latest study conducted by AT&T have indicated that small businesses in the United States are making proactive efforts to ensure that mobile security is a central part of their efforts over that channel.

As company heads see a growing number of headlines regarding data breaches, more protection efforts are being taken.

Businesses are regularly seeing mobile security risks in the headlines in terms of data breaches, cyberattacks, and even natural disasters such as the tornadoes in Oklahoma and Superstorm Sandy. This awareness is causing those in charge of IT to boost their efforts to protect themselves against damage from these types of events while at the same time they put their own disaster recovery plans into place.

On an increasing basis, these disaster recovery plans are incorporating mobile security into their strategies.

Mobile Security - AT&TThe largest wireless operator in the country has stated that among the mobile security efforts have included the incorporation of apps, wireless network capabilities and cloud services. The AT&T study’s results also included the following:

• 84 percent of American company execs are concerned about the mobile security risks associated with using the devices and mobile networks, and the increase in threats that this could bring about.
• Over half of the executives that took part in the survey (63 percent) felt that the most important security concern this year was the threat of a data breach.
• 88 percent of the respondents stated that they understood the growing need for mobile security efforts and that their own companies already had established a proactive strategy.
• 64 percent of the companies surveyed included their wireless network capabilities as an element of their business continuity plan.
• 87 percent of the surveyed execs said that their companies already had a precautionary business continuity plan established in case of a catastrophe or a threat. This was just a sliver higher than it had been in 2012, when it was 86 percent.

According to the AT&T AVP of mobile, cloud, and access management security, Michael Singer, in a statement about this mobile security survey, “Companies today are very aware and concerned about the potential threats that could disrupt their operations.” He added that “With their business continuity plans in place, businesses are investing in new technologies like network enabled cloud services to help strengthen and expand their overall continuity strategies.”