虽然我们利用手机上网的频数已经跟电脑差不多，但是多数人还是不够注重手机的安全保健。Norton 的 Mobile Survey 2012 调查显示，虽然有六成的网络用户明白手机安全的重要性，但还是有很多人疏忽了采取手机安全防范措施。 – 科技点心
The ownership and use of mobile phones to access the internet and stay connected is fast catching up with the use of computers.
Yet, the awareness of mobile security remains wanting compared to the relative maturity in security awareness for general computer usage.
David Freer, Vice President, Consumer, Asia Pacific and Japan, Symantec. Photo taken on a mobile phone.
I was briefed on the results of the Norton Mobile Survey this morning at their offices at Suntec Singapore. A summary of the detailed numbers can be found at the end of this post. Here’s how the survey was conducted.
Ownership and use of mobile phones fast catching up with computers.
|
Mobile phone |
Computer |
| Ownership |
91% |
92% |
| Access Internet |
88% |
69% |
This was the same survey which found that “76% of Internet users in Singapore would rather forgo US$1million than give strangers unlimited access to their computers”.
What stood out from the numbers was the disparity between the greater dependence and use of our mobile phones on one hand (see sideboxes), and on the other hand the lagging level of mobile security in their usage.
So we’re doing an awful lot of things on our mobile phones – pretty much the same sort of things we do on our computers – in terms of accessing the Internet and staying connected. (And snapping the cover photo for this article.)
Need for greater awareness of mobile security
Yet almost half of the mobile users in Singapore do not take the simple step of using passwords to protect their phones, even though 61% of Singaporeans acknowledge that mobile threats are real.
What do people actually do on their mobile phones?
| Social networking |
57% |
| Read the news |
55% |
| Online messaging |
39% |
| Mobile banking/payments |
27% |
| Location-based tasks, including navigation |
25% |
| Online shopping |
19% |
In addition, some 30% are not aware that they can remotely track their phone using GPS navigation software.
Is it because we’re still trapped in the age when mobile phones were less capable and we were less dependent on them – and therefore had little to lose if a mobile phone was lost or stolen.
You know, when we had feature phones, the most painful thing about losing the phone was the loss of the contacts on them, and the hassle of having to replace them.
Viruses and malware for feature phones were almost unheard of.
US$1million for complete access to your computer?
Now, your smartphone can store a substantial trove of precious PERSONAL photos and videos, work-related documents and apps that access your stockmarket transactions.
The survey found that for the one in three Singaporeans who have had their mobile phone stolen/lost, most of them (78%) mentioned that losing their contact information was the worst part of the experience, with 52% feeling their privacy had been invaded.
To resolve their lost/stolen phone situation, two in three Singaporeans had paid an average of S$424.
The survey found that three in five Singaporeans would rather pay a ransom 
averaging S$273 in order to resolve their lost/stolen phone problem – assuming they were offered the chance.
This is almost double the S$148 “ransom” that half of those surveyed in LAST YEAR’s study were willing to pay.
Dark cloud arising
“Singapore is a very tech savvy nation that is hugely mobile and connected,” said David Freer, Vice President of Norton for Asia Pacific & Japan.
Personally, I believe the concern with lost contact information will diminish rapidly with the convenience of syncing contact and calendar information with cloud-based services, such as iCloud and Google.
These cloud services allow you to reinstate contact lists and calendars in a new smartphone in a matter of minutes.
On the other hand, the tight coupling between the smartphones with cloud services bring with it a much greater problem.
“With greater connectivity to the Internet through mobile devices, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting this platform.
With so much valuable and personal information residing on our mobile devices, mobile users need to have the right security measures in place – both a reliable mobile security solution and personal diligence to back up important information,” added Freer.
By serving as gateways to access huge repositories of information on the cloud, people who lose their mobile phones stand to lose much more than just what’s physically stored on the phone itself.
It’s akin to losing a wallet full of cash viz-a-viz losing a wallet full of cash and a couple of credit cards.
So, if you haven’t enabled remote locking or wiping, anyone losing their phone would also need to change the passwords of all the online services the phone and its apps has been authorised to access.
Emails accounts, Facebook/Twitter accounts, Dropbox are but a few that immediately pop into mind. How many of these can you recall off the top of your head, and in the heat and stress of having realised you’ve just lost your phone?
Norton Mobile Security
Norton Mobile Security for Android devices addresses some of today’s most common mobile issues, including device loss and data protection.
Norton Mobile Security has anti-theft, anti-malware, locate and remote wipe features.
Norton Mobile Security Lite is available for free in English on the Google Play Store.
For users seeking additional protection, there is the option to upgrade to the full featured Norton Mobile Security for an annual subscription of S$19.90.
Versions for iOS and Windows Phone will be released later this year.
Below is a summary of the main findings of the Norton Mobile Survey 2012.
(more…)
Boosting developer confidence through BlackBerry 10 Jam
Monday, July 9th, 2012The BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour rolled into town today as more than 300 developers from Singapore and surrounding countries packed the Grand Ballroom at Hilton Hotel to be briefed on why they should develop apps on BlackBerry 10.
Wvygen Wong (right), local developer, talk about the BlackBerry 10 experience. To his right is Justin Lee, Application Development Consultant, Developer Relations, APAC, RIM.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at Research In Motion (RIM).
And that is the message that RIM wants to get through to developers.
“Research In Motion customers from GoDaddy Group Inc. to asset manager Thames River Capital UK Ltd. are preparing for the worst: the loss of the BlackBerry service their employees depend on to communicate.
RIM’s stock has slumped more than 70 percent in the past year, and tumbled 19 percent on June 29 after the company posted a quarterly loss and delayed the BlackBerry 10 operating system, increasing the pressure on RIM to find a buyer or sell assets.
While RIM has built infrastructure to ensure continued service, some customers are devising backup plans as RIM prepares to face shareholders at its annual meeting tomorrow.”
– “RIM’s Customers Working on Contingency Plans: Corporate Canada” dated 9 July (today) on Bloomberg, by Scott Moritz and Olga Kharif.
The rollout of BlackBerry 10 has been further pushed back to the first quarter of next year.
Developers need to be convinced that BlackBerry 10 will come into being if they are to be persuaded to invest time and effort into developing on the new platform.
I believe Dufourcq when he says RIM is committed to BlackBerry 10.
But it is not a secret that RIM may not even be in its current form after it considers the findings of an evaluation study of its strategic options by JP Morgan and RBC, which includes – as a least favoured option – a sale of the company.
It is anybody’s guess how a re-structured/acquired RIM positions BlackBerry 10.
But let’s not speculate too much.
The full-day BlackBerry 10 Jam today aims to provide the developer community with insights on the BlackBerry 10 platform.
“We are fully committed to BlackBerry 10,” says Charles Dufourcq, Director for Singapore at RIM.To help developers get started on the BlackBerry 10 platform, attendees were provided with a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device in order to test their apps and to help ensure their apps are ready and available for customers.
Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry PlayBook tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook.
Tags:BlackBerry 10 Jam, Bloomberg, developers, Research In Motion, RIM, Singapore
Posted in App, BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10, Commentary, Enterprise IT, Events, Gadgets, Phones, PlayBook, RIM, Seminars, Software, Tablets, Tech news, Technology | No Comments »