Smartphone Users Not Implementing Security Measures

As we look in depth at the state of mobile security, I was very surprised to learn of the disconnect between smartphone users' knowledge that they should be taking steps to protect themselves from mobile security threats and their actions. An online survey conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance found that approximately 75 percent of respondents knew that there was a risk to their smartphones from hackers, but they were not being proactive about protecting themselves.

With nine out of ten smartphone users storing personal information on their handheld devices and over 80 percent of users indicating they were concerned about security issues, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me that consumers are not taking action. I also found it surprising that men were savvier about mobile security issues, while women were more focused on concerns about their privacy and potential threats.

The main area of concern for most smartphone owners (78 percent) was the phone getting lost or stolen and having its contents used for inappropriate purposes. Owners were also quite concerned about losing their password data, and most respondents stated that they would be willing to add security to their phone so that their banking and other sensitive information was protected.

Location tracking is another potential area for mobile security concern, and half of respondents stated that they knew how to turn off permissions for remote tracking. Almost all of those surveyed (95 percent) said that they believed that their location could be tracked by at least one entity while the phone is on.