Let’s face it: these smartphones are less phones and are becoming mini-computers in our pockets. But with that computing power also comes the threat of viruses and it an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal which shows how the carriers and handset makers are beefing up mobile security.
“Right now it is a daily fight with security issues,” said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson in an interview with the WSJ. “If we as an industry don’t really get ahead of this and get a good controlled environment around this mobile broadband world it will limit growth potential.”
AT&T has opened a lab in New York focused on mobile security and it has hired 13 Ph.Ds in the last six months to work on it. Verizon is working with Lookout to beef up mobile security on some of its smartphones and Research In Motion is trying to bring its enterprise-grade security to consumers with its BlackBerry handsets and services.
Stefan ripped Lookout security getting more funding today because he felt that consumer-facing security services aren’t really needed for smartphones, as these devices are locked down compared to home PCs. But I don’t think he would object to carriers like AT&T and Verizon working on this from a network level or handset makers thinking about this from the ground up.
Part of his argument is that malicious apps from official stores like the Android Market will be pulled soon enough or have enough negative reviews to ward off users with common sense. I’m not quite sure I buy that yet because Android app permissions are too vague (“Internet access” can mean browsing the web or sending your info to a bad guy) and there are still too many users getting burned before the ratings go into effect.
[Via The Wall Street Journal]
[Via The Wall Street Journal]