Author: Lucy

Mobile security of wearable tech data called into question

| August 26, 2014

A new report by ABI Research has revealed that wearables are rapidly increasingly in popularity.

The wearable technology market is moving quite quickly throughout 2014, but despite its popularity, the use of these devices could be placing consumers at an ever rising risk of a mobile security breach.

An ABI Research report claims that there will be 485 million shipments of wearables by 2018.

Among the most popular devices in the wearables category includes those that allow for the tracking of health and fitness data. They also often allow this data to be shared with friends, coworkers, or between doctors and patients. However, each new activity that is logged may also be opening up the user to a new mobile security breach risk.

This mobile security speculation by many in the wearables industry has been underscored by Symantec research results.

Mobile Security - Wearable TechOn June 7, 2014, that company’s Security Response team looked at the most popular mobile apps at the Apple App Store and examined the most popular iOS compatible offerings within the free “health & fitness” category. It then tested the 100 most popular options within that category. Among them, there were 57 that were also available in the Google Play store so that Android device users would be able to them. Those 57 were also researched on the Android side, by the Symantec team.

What the Security Response team found was that 20 percent of the apps that they examined required a user to use non encrypted (clear) text which exposed their login credentials. This means that in the case of the users of those popular free applications, it could be possible for the device or the app to be compromised.

Furthermore, depending on when and where the wearable device is synced, it could mean that those login credentials will be shared with just about anyone who is paying attention. The typical wearable technology does not connect directly to the internet. Instead, it uses Bluetooth synchronization to an internet enabled smartphone, tablet, or desktop. This process may be making it much easier for cybercriminals to breach mobile security and scoop up personal data from the device user, without ever making him or her aware that it had occurred.

Social media marketing reporting available over multiple devices through Facebook

| August 21, 2014

The company has now announced that advertisers will be able to track conversions from desktop through mobile.

Facebook has now announced that its social media marketing ads will allow advertisers to be able to track their conversion rates over both traditional desktop channels as well as over mobile, such as smartphones and tablets.

This data tracking uses a “conversion pixel” worked into the marketer’s website, along with the Facebook SDK.

It has now been added to the existing cross channel targeting over various forms of devices from Facebook, as well as to its measurement functionality for delivery and conversions. This type of attribution increases in its importance along with the rise of the number of devices being utilized by each individual user. A statement released by Facebook about this social media marketing has pointed out that while smartphone and tablet based ads are not very likely to drive a purchase that will occur right away and on that device, they do have the potential to influence one made on another device at a later time.

This means that it will be easier to track social media marketing viewed over mobile that leads to a sale on a PC.

social media marketing - facebookTests on this mobile marketing tracking technology were carried out this year from May through July. They indicated that among the individuals who had shown interest in an ad that they saw over Facebook mobile, there was a conversion rate of 32 percent on the desktop computers of those individuals at some point during the 28 days that followed.

Until now, it has been impossible for marketers to be able to track the impact that their ads have had when a user changed devices in order to take action on Facebook advertisements that they had seen. This feature is changing that so that when a user switches from one device to another, it is still possible to track their behaviors.

The Facebook blog illustrated the social media marketing point by saying “Imagine seeing an ad for a product on your mobile phone while in line at the bank. Do you immediately make a purchase on your phone?,” and adding “Probably not. But perhaps you go back to your office later that day and buy on your desktop computer.”