The Lookout Blog

No Mobile Platform is Immune to Security Risks

There is no silver bullet when it comes to security and there is no mobile platform that is immune to security risks. As we wrote in a TechCrunch update to the recent iPad breach, more personal data was potentially at risk than initially reported. This incident is just a reminder that no mobile platform is immune to security risks. Your mobile device has a tremendous amount of personal information and, in the increasingly networked world of mobile, both carriers and third-party web services have access to this data and often more.

As mobile devices become more sophisticated and access even more personal data, there’s an increasing incentive for cybercriminals to attack. The mobile device is much more exposed than the traditional PC. Threats can come from all directions, targeting the device directly over SMS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, web browsers, apps, and e-mail.

We expect to see a lot more attention paid to this in the near future – our data shows that there was a doubling of threats to smartphones between December and April of this year alone. With the increase of smartphones and our ongoing dependency on them in our daily life, it’s no surprise that there will be a stronger focus to protect them.