How Smart is your Smartphone?

Speak to most IT people, and they will tell you the way people use their Smartphones make these devices the weakest link in the data security fence. A recent survey conducted by Anti-Virus company AVG and research and consulting firm The Ponemon Institute reinforce this perception.

According to the report, 84% of the respondents use their mobile device for both work and personal uses, and a majority (66%) admit that they keep a lot of personal information on their phone, such as email address, name, contact lists, photos, videos, anniversary and personal dates and music. However, only about half use a keypad lock or password to protect access to the information. We find this shocking given how easy it is to password protect a Smartphone.

Further, although two-thirds of the respondents have paid at least once for an item using their Smartphone, only 6% say they check their mobile bill regularly. This isn’t that surprising, considering 57% said that security on a Smartphone is not an important feature when deciding which model to use.

What does this mean? Well, unless you’re planning a life of crime, you should probably consider some of the following simple things to help make your Smartphone live up to its name:

1. Set a password or keypad lock on your phone
2. Always keep an eye on your phone while traveling – treat it like your wallet
3. Install and enable remote services, such as remote lock, remote wipe, and/or GPS location (for finding where your phone went when you forget number 2).
4. Keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off when you aren’t using them
5. Back up your data
6. Apply software/firmware updates from your carrier or phone vendor
7. Only download applications from reputable sources
8. Use encryption where available
9. Don’t respond (or even open) text messages if don’t recognize the number it’s sent from

​If you want more information on data security, speak to your IT person – they would be more than willing to help you ensure your device is protected.