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Posted on August 7th, 2012 in Internet Safety, Mobility by Simply Security | Be the first to comment | Tags: Internet Safety, Mobility

Mobile device management can get complicated when applications have to be designed with multiple operating systems in mind, and concern is emerging about data protection and internet security on these devices, especially when it comes to banking.

One in three Americans have a smartphone and more than three quarters of them regularly use it to surf the web or read their email according to a Pew study. There's no doubt that the proliferation of cell phones and smartphone technology is increasing, along with other mobile devices like e-readers and tablet computers, and users want technology to work seamlessly with their hardware. However, mobile device management can get complicated when applications have to be designed with multiple operating systems in mind, and concern is emerging about data protection and internet security on these
devices, especially when it comes to banking.

Research by Infosys shows that 94 percent of Americans are using some kind of banking app on their mobile devices with 80 percent saying they like the convenience of being able to quickly get to their accounts 24 hours a day.

Just about half of these same people think mobile banking is a security problem, and that's not counting those who take issue with mobile payments.

The technology provides a level of convenience that Americans under 29 have embraced, according to testimony from Sandra F. Braunstein, the director of the Division of Consumer Community Affairs. She spoke before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs about the proliferation of mobile banking and payments in an attempt to highlight the need for endpoint security.

"Security concerns were the second most-cited reason for not using mobile banking," she said to the Committee in March. "Specifically, consumers expressed concerns about hackers gaining access to their phones and exposing their personal financial information."

Information from Infosys' study agrees; 60 percent of those who don't choose to use mobile banking say it's because they don't trust their information is safe. That's not to say they aren't allowing programs like Facebook and FourSquare to access permissions on their phone and provide sensitive information to other sources, but that these users differentiate between what they consider worthy of data protection, specifically financial information.

"Fundamentally, the mobile phone is a lot more secure than many people believe," according to senior officer Kumail Tyebjee of Infosys' IT consulting firm.

The Infosys survey found an overwhelming 96 percent of respondents felt their home computer was a better alternative than mobile banking, but other analysts agree with Tyebjee in saying that mobile apps are less susceptible to hacks, though that may change in coming years. A report by the Aite Group shows the fraud risk is currently much higher on personal computers than mobile phones, and 67 percent of financial institutions are currently either working on data security or have some sort of content security in place for their customers. A quarter of banks are aware of the issue and are waiting to see these threats before they
implement solutions to counter them.

According to Federal Reserve data expressed by Braunstein, one in three mobile users don't have a good grasp of how secure banking apps actually are, let alone their own phones. Knowledge Network's research found the majority of the time people who did utilize mobile banking apps were checking balances and moving money between accounts and lacked access to conventional banking methods, making the mobile option more appealing. Bank and government regulations need to proceed cautiously but quickly in implementing endpoint security and data protection for users before the number of attacks on consumers escalates.