More than 50 percent of consumers are worried about mobile security 
(23/06/2009)
Consumers are increasingly reliant on their mobile phones, more than half (59%) admitted to finding it difficult to manage a normal week without their phone and more than one in ten (13%) went as far as saying that they wouldn’t be able to survive without out their phone. This rise in consumer dependence on mobile phones has driven vendors to launch enticing applications which are fueling the popularity of smartphones. The combination of rapid smartphone adoption and increased application use is creating an environment ripe for mobile spammers.
Research by Cloudmark reveals that over half of consumers (51%) are worried about mobile security, and a further 52 percent don’t believe that the information they send via their mobile phone is secure. This concern about mobile security is detrimentally affecting the adoption of mobile services such as banking and e-commerce. More than two thirds (69.3%) of consumers stated that they wouldn’t use value-added services such as mobile banking and 37 percent wouldn’t shop online due to mobile security concerns.
Just 7 percent of consumers think the information they send via their phone is secure. This is hardly surprising given that two thirds of consumers (65.9%) have received unwanted or unsolicited messages (spam) on their mobile phone. While a majority of spam messages could simply be seen as a nuisance (e.g. SMS marketing), an alarming 29% had received malicious spam such as phishing messages, fraud messages or messages containing inappropriate content.
“Consumers’ increasing reliance on their mobile phone coincides with the rise in messaging threats like SMS spam, MMS viruses and mobile phishing, which are not only intrusive and annoying but are costly and put consumers at risk of fraud and identify theft,” explained Hugh McCartney, Chief Executive Officer of Cloudmark.
“The research results prove the mobile industry needs to take notice of the threat that mobile messaging abuse and fraud poses to both consumers and operators. It is important that operators invest in the necessary technology to safeguard their networks and ensure customers feel confident using their mobile phones and accessing additional revenue generating services,” continued McCartney.
Related topics: Mobile and Wireless Security
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