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.”
