Brussels, 16/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - A new ENISA (European Network and Information Security Agency) report identifies the top security risks and opportunities of smartphone use. Smartphones offer a multitude of applications - “apps” - and worldwide sales have rocketed to 80 million in the third quarter of this year alone. The report gives practical security advice for businesses, consumers and governments. “Given the growing importance of smartphones for EU businesses, governments and citizens, we consider it essential to assess their security and privacy implications”, said ENISA Executive Director Prof. Dr.Udo Helmbrecht.
With their arrays of applications and sensors, smartphones store a whole range of private information on their users. They are famous for their diversity of functions; a smartphone can be a contactless wallet, a camera/videophone, a barcode reader, an email client, or a way of accessing social networks. They have become essential tools across all sections of society, from top government officials to businesses and consumers. In its new report, ENISA analyses the key security opportunities and risks. It says that the main risks are: 1) accidental leakage of sensitive data, for example, through GPS data attached to images; 2) data theft by malicious apps and from stolen, lost or decommissioned phones; 3) “diallerware” - malicious software which steals money through unauthorised phonecalls; 4) overload of network infrastructure by smartphone applications.
In terms of opportunities, backup is often very well integrated into smartphone platforms, making it easy to recover data if the phone is lost or stolen. Another opportunity lies in the use of app-stores: as a general rule, smartphone users only install 3rd party software through controlled software distribution channels, thereby enhancing security. The report delivers a comprehensive set of strategies, for businesses, top officials and consumers for securing smartphones. “Smartphones are a goldmine of sensitive and personal information - it's vital to understand how to maintain our control over this data. We've
designed our recommendations to plug into a typical security policy”, said report co-author
Dr. Giles Hogben. (I.L./transl.rt)