Mobile Commerce News

Category: Featured News

Metaforic identifies threat of Android applications

JT | January 22, 2013

100% of Android applications compromised, according to Metaforic

All of the most popular mobile applications for the Android platform may have been hacked, according to Infosecurity, an online resource for security information. This possibility is being echoed by Metaforic, a leading mobile security provider, which suggests that the likelihood of a person downloading a compromised application has risen exponentially over the past few years. Metaforic notes that as more compromised applications become available, they could create a serious security threat against major enterprises and even government agencies.

Lack of standards and wide variety of development practices seed potential threats

Application development has changed over the years and developers have adopted myriad practices in order to conduct their tasks. Because there are so many ways to create a mobile application, there is limited standardization that exists to protect the integrity of these applications and ensure they live up to a certain expectation. Metaforic notes that most, if not all, applications becoming compromised because of app repackaging. Repackaging refers to programs that are part of applications that automatically install software across a wide variety of platforms.

Few consumers take steps to protect their mobile devices

Another issue that is causing significant problems in the mobile security sector is the fact that very few people actually protect their smart phones and mobile devices. The vast majority of consumers do not have any kind of security software installed on their devices, leaving them at risk of having their device infected by malware or exploited in other ways. While most mobile devices have some form of internal security, third party software is often needed to completely ensure the security of a smart phone or tablet.

Metaforic advises consumers to find ways to protect themselves

Many of the compromised applications available for the Android platform are likely dormant in some fashion. That is to say that the threats associated with these applications have not yet been activated. Indeed, these threats may never actually take form, but given the fact that so many applications have been compromised — in many cases long before they have actually reached the app market — it may be prudent for consumers to find new ways to protect themselves.

Investors inching away from online and mobile ventures

Stephen | January 22, 2013

Investors show caution in light of lackluster results in mobile space

Once upon a time, Silicon Valley investors had been all too eager to dump money into any online start-up or mobile company that showed some semblance of promise. Now, however, these investors are being increasingly stingy with their money, and for good reason. Investors lost a great deal of hope in the online and mobile sectors due to Facebook’s lackluster stock results when the company went public. The decline of Groupon and the Zynga’s fall from grace have not done much to placate the concerns of investors.

Online and mobile start-ups losing favor with investors

Investors seem to have taken note of the large number of online and mobile start-ups that fail to deliver on their ambitious promises. Investors had been eager to invest in promising ventures because of a desire to not miss the next big thing, especially in the mobile space. These ventures, some of which were launched several years ago, were able to capture the support of investors, but those that remain active have yet to produce any kind of return to these investors.

Study shows more than 1,000 ventures will lose funding this year

CB Insights, a market research firm, recently analyzed some 4,000 start-up e-commerce ventures that were launched and received funding from investors in 2009. The firm discovered that over 1,000 of these start-ups would not be receiving any further funding from their investors this year. The firm notes that approximately $1 billion in angel investments will disappear from this particular sector this year, as investors become much more cautious of the online and mobile ventures they choose to support.

E-commerce platforms likely to see significant hit this year

Internet start-ups are expected to face a problematic year in terms of investments. E-commerce businesses that have not already established themselves are likely to crumble as they see the funding they heavily rely upon disappear. Such ventures require significant investments in order to reach consumers. Without these investments, e-commerce platforms are little more than dysfunctional websites with dysfunctional services.