Posted 8/13/2012
By Angie Kilbourne, AAM

Web Wise: Secure Your Smartphones

Last spring, McAffee and Ponemon Institute released a study that looked at how many employee smartphones were lost or stolen and the resulting consequences. The study found that approximately 4.3 percent of employee smartphones from the study’s sample group were lost or stolen each year, including company- and employee-owned devices.

What was most alarming was the fact that about 60 percent of the missing devices contained sensitive and confidential company information and that approximately 57 percent were not protected with any security features.

Symantec Corp. also released results of a study recently – “The Honeystick Project” – that provided some disturbing results: “Chief among the findings is that there is a high likelihood of attempts to access both sensitive personal- and business-related information will be made if a lost and unprotected smartphone is found by a stranger.” The Honeystick Project consisted of intentionally “losing” 50 smartphones in public locations across the United States and Canada.

For smartphone users who employ these devices for both personal and business, it’s not just your information that’s at risk; your phone also contains the names and contact information of everyone you know – personally and professionally. Add in the apps you use for banking, credit cards and retail businesses, and the loss of your smartphone becomes more than just an inconvenience. It becomes a serious security breach.

Experts cite some basic tactics that can help minimize the damage:

• Use a password or passcode feature that automatically locks when idle and disables use until the code is entered.
• Install a remote wiping feature. Many of these features include the ability to locate the phone remotely, too.
• Malware apps help keep your device safe by watching what is happening in the background.
• Use care when adding apps to your phone. Research the maker and understand what permissions it requires before downloading.
• Put a plan in place that neutralizes the device as soon as possible in the event it’s lost or stolen.

In the News

Here’s a sobering fact: Mobile connectivity, including cell phones and smartphones, are more widely available on a global basis than electricity and safe drinking water, according to a recent report from Chetan Sharma Consulting.

Source: BusinessInsider.com