53% of smartphone owners oblivious to malware threats
Are you aware of the fact smartphones are just as susceptible to malware attacks as PCs or laptops? If you are, you’re part of the minority in the UK; a recent survey commissioned by security specialists Bullguard showed that of 2,000 Brits polled, 53% were unaware of the uses and need for mobile phone security.
21% of those questioned argued that such protection was unnecessary, and 42% admitted it “hadn’t crossed their mind”. A further 49% of users “have never been concerned about accessing the internet from a mobile phone”, and 32% “hadn’t thought about the potential risk”.
However, the risk of malicious attacks on mobile phone security are growing by the day, with Facebook, Twitter and banking details increasingly being compromised by mobile malware. Using open Wi-Fi networks whilst out and about often leads to data being compromised too.
“It’s not really surprising that consumers haven’t responded to this emerging threat” said Claus Villumsen, mobile security expert with BullGuard.
“People want to buy products that “just work”, and not concern themselves with jumping through more hoops once a device is up and running. The key thing to remember here is that Smartphones are effectively miniature computers and so are just as vulnerable.”
“Mobile users need to be educated about the increasing potential risk involved in using a Smartphone to access the internet, send emails and perform financial transactions” continued Villumsen.
“Our survey indicated that 88% of users claim not to be storing any sensitive data on their phone, but we suspect that in many cases this sort of data may be saved to the device without their knowledge”.
The poll comes following reports of a 250% increase in smartphone malware attacks over the last 6 months.
