Category: Mobile Security

Mobile commerce could eventually replace conventional forms of commerce

Mobile payments may actually do away with cash in the relatively near future. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has released a new report that highlights security issues in the mobile commerce space. The report does show that security issues are quite serious, but the mobile commerce space may overcome these issues to outpace traditional forms of commerce and become favored among consumers. IEEE surveyed 2,000 technology enthusiasts for the report.

Consumers remain concerned about security risks that exist in the mobile space

According to the report, 70% of those that the company surveyed believe that mobile payments will be secure enough to replace cash by 2030. Many consumers are already interested in new payment services, but they rarely use these services due to concerns regarding their security. Consumers believe that their personal information could be at risk of exploitation if they use their mobile devices to make purchases. These are not unfounded worries, as mobile payments services have been targeted by malicious groups in the past.

Consumers are worried about unauthorized purchases and malicious QR codes

Of those surveyed, 46% said they were worried that their payment information would be stolen. Another 33% claimed that they were worried that unauthorized payments would be made through mobile services. Approximately 13% were worried that they would accidentally make a payment through an NFC sticker or QR code. Consumers are also concerned that their mobile devices may be infected by scanning a malicious QR code. These concerns have come together to discourage consumers from participating in mobile commerce.

Companies are beginning to aggressively address security issues in order to make mobile commerce safer

While consumers are worried about their financial information, companies in the mobile commerce space are beginning to address these concerns. Several have begun using biometric technology to protect their mobile payments services. Tokenization is also becoming popular in the mobile commerce space. This involves replacing consumer information with digital tokens, which can be used to authenticate mobile transactions.

This new feature has now been added to give iPhone and iPad users greater protection for their emails.

Mobile security has become a hot topic over the last while, particularly since Apple has started fighting the FBI’s demands to unlock an iPhone in a criminal investigation case, but for the rest of us, we’d still like to be able to keep our devices safe from prying eyes.

In this light, the iOS version of the Outlook mobile app now supports fingerprint scanning for added protection.

This new update from the Outlook app from Microsoft – which is one of the best loved email application for iOS devices – is now letting users take advantage of the mobile security boost available through the fingerprint scanning feature in certain iPhone and iPad models. Those compatible with this new protection feature are the ones that have an integrated Touch ID sensor. That option is available in the newest smartphone and tablet models from Apple.

Using the fingerprint scanning mobile security option is quite straightforward and easy to set up.

To enable Touch ID protection, head to the Settings option in the mobile app and scroll down until you reach Preferences. From there, switch the toggle so that “Require Touch ID” is active. That’s it. It’s ready to be used.

From there, the next time Outlook is launched, it will require you to authenticate your identity with your fingerprint before you’ll be able to read your emails. At the moment, this Outlook protection feature is limited to devices based on Apple’s iOS. Moreover, interestingly enough, neither Gmails email app nor Apple’s own Mail app support the added fingerprint scanning protection afforded by Touch ID.

In fact, at the moment, it appears as though there may be only one other app that uses Touch ID to help to further protect emails, which is “Safe Mail for Gmail”. If there are others, they are not listed in a quick mobile app search for that feature.

As mobile security has moved into the spotlight, many are impressed with the initiative Microsoft has taken to align itself with the additional protection level for its email application.