Tag: mobile commerce security

A recent survey has shown that consumers from the U.K. don’t feel safe shopping or paying with their smartphones.

While the promise of m-commerce and mobile payments has been a large one, recent events in digital security have caused a considerable amount of harm to the confidence that consumers in the United Kingdom are feeling toward the safety of the technology.

The Heartbleed security flaw had a particularly damaging impact on consumer trust in mobile shopping.

Recent research from a firm called Intercede has revealed that following the Heartbleed online and mobile security issue, only 18 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom feel confident that their use of m-commerce and smartphone based payments are actually secure. The same survey showed that more than half – 53 percent – of shoppers in the U.K. say that they would never use mobile banking services, while many among them avoid using any form of financial services over their smartphones – including money transfer apps, shopping sites, and PayPal.

Twenty four percent of the surveyed consumers would not feel safe shopping over m-commerce.

Over half are already avoiding using mobile apps for money transfer, and 75 percent of those who stated that they were worried about experiencing data loss in case they should ever have their smartphone stolen, said that identity theft was their largest concern.

According to the Intercede CEO, Richard Parris, “Nearly every week we read about another high-profile hacking story in the news.” He added that “From major attacks such as Heartbleed to eBay’s recent data breach, it’s not surprising that consumers just don’t trust mobile security. This is throttling the mobile economy. But with the mobile device boom set to continue, it’s clear that security needs a radical revamp.”

The survey results were quite interesting when looking at the responses given from the various age groups. While it was expected that those in the age bracket of 18 to 24 might be those that were most likely to be comfortable with m-commerce and payments, concerns over mobile security of financial and personal information spanned all of the age groups. As a whole, 54 percent expressed concern regarding the security of their smartphones. That said, it was the 13 to 24 years old age group that were the most distrustful when it came to smartphone based banking and financial services.

Rushing headlong into the digital age has consequences. The world is becoming more integrated and reliant on technology of all kinds. One of the clearest trends that is proving this is people’s growing dependence on mobile technology. Many people use their mobile devices on a daily basis and these devices often contain most of their precious personal information. Mobile technology is exciting for most people, and this excitement is blinding them to threats that exist in a world that is becoming digitized.

The digital era has brought people together in a way that was never before thought possible. Accessing the Internet, a person in the United States can form a intimate connection with another person living in Japan. Businesses are interacting with consumers in new ways because of social media and constant connection. While technology has helped bring people together, the digital world, much like the physical one, is not a safe place.

In the digital world, malicious groups are often on the lookout for ways to exploit people’s information. Identity theft is, perhaps, one of the most prolific crimes in the digital space and it is proving to be a difficult problem to protect oneself from. The digital world is filled with malware and viruses that are designed for malicious purpose and these weapons are evolving faster than the protective methods designed to mitigate their impact can adapt.

Large businesses that are beginning to focus more heavily on the digital space are beginning to fall victim to cyber attacks that are leading to billions of dollars in losses. Data breach is becoming more common and a growing number of people are beginning to see that their personal information is being compromised due to lackluster security. In the digital world, you cannot rely on a company to keep your information safe and have to take matters into your own hands.

In a world that is becoming more digital, absolute security is an impossible dream. Taking steps to protect yourself is not futile, however. More often than not, the lack of protection can make you a target for malicious groups that want to exploit whatever resources you might have. Even simply installing an anti-virus application on your mobile device can serve as an effective deterrent from an attack.