LevelUp begins incorporating iBeacon into its overarching mobile commerce platform

LevelUp, a mobile payments firm that leverages QR codes as a powerful commerce tool, has announced that it has begun integrating Apple’s iBeacon into its platform. The iBeacon is gaining ground as a mobile commerce tool because it serves as a sort of alternative to NFC and similar technologies. The iBeacon utilizes Bluetooth technology to alert consumers of special deals being offered by retailers as soon as they enter a physical store. The service can also be used for a wide range of marketing and commerce initiatives.

LevelUp finds success through its use of Apple’s iBeacon

LevelUp added support for the iBeacon to its platform last month, but has only begun promoting this technology aggressively recently. During the initial testing of the iBeacon, retailers using the technology alongside the LevelUp platform reported a 22% increase in consumer spending. LevelUp notes that the transactions coming from its “lapsed” user base increased by an average of 63%. The introduction of the iBeacon technology into LevelUp’s platform has been well received among those that are using the platform.

The iBeacon could soon become one of the strongest mobile commerce tools available to businesses

The iBeacon allows retailers to instantaneously engage thousands of consumers in a single store with special offers. The technology can easily notify consumers of when a loyalty reward is available to them and those using the iBeacon can access these rewards quite easily. The technology is meant to add more convenience to mobile commerce while offering those using it a better way to engage consumers in an effective manner. The iBeacon currently serves as one of Apple’s most promising mobile commerce tools, but the technology itself has yet to see extensive use in the retail sector.

iBeacon allows businesses to keep track of consumer behavior and adapt accordingly

Beyond providing some convenience to consumers interested in mobile payments, the iBeacon also allows businesses to keep track of information concerning consumer behavior. This information can be used for marketing purposes or help retailers better cater to consumers that are becoming quite reliant on mobile technology.

New report finds iOS mobile devices are just as susceptible to attacks as Android gadgets.

As far as malware is concerned, Apple has done a good job at keeping it out of its App Store and, although it is not as much of a target for malware as is the case for Android devices, according to a report from mobile security management company, Marble Security, when it comes to Android and iOS, one is not more secure than the other.

Both operating systems carry similar risks.

According to the report, “The major security differences between iOS and Android are largely that Android is a much more open operating environment, more easily allowing users to download apps from app stores that have poor or non-existent app analysis and vetting procedures.”

However, Marble Security pointed out through its report that most of the malicious attacks on Android and iOS mobile devices typically come from the same sources. Some of these include SMS, malicious apps, or via Wi-Fi hotspots that have been compromised.

Even though Android apps can be downloaded and installed from more stores aside from Google Play, the mobile security company pointed out that even a device that has not been jailbroken can sneak past Apple’s walls through third party testing applications like TestFlight, for example, which is an app Apple acquired just this year.

Moreover, phishing attacks, particularly those in an enterprise environment where attackers can tap directly into the corporate directory and send emails or text messages to targets, is another chief security problem that is common for both mobile platforms.

The company also noted that iOS mobile devices are susceptible to a threat that can be introduced through management profiles. If the user installs a “hostile configuration profile, then the enterprise is at risk for” phony app installs, APTs, intercepted traffic and sophisticated phishing.

Malware threats may be lower but mobile security risks are still an issue for Apple.

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has openly made fun of Google for Android’s vulnerabilities in the past, but clearly iOS is not exactly risk-free. That said, Apple has managed to have an overall better track record with mobile security in terms of malware, due to its tight control over app distribution and, unlike Android, when Apple releases its latest version of its operating system, the vast majority of its users upgrade to the most recent one.