Though most people know the importance of protecting their phones, research conducted by security vendor Eset showed that 80% of smartphone users do not have a security solution, or even consider it necessary. “We see an increase in the attacks against mobile platform, especially Android, due to its growth,” said Camillo Di Jorge, country manager of Eset Brazil.
Samsung is marketing its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets to enterprise customers based on the promise of better security. The company recently launched “SAFE,” which stands for “Samsung Approved for Enterprise.” The SAFE-certification program offers companies on-device encryption, virtual private networks, mobile device management and corporate email, contacts and calendars for the Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.
The growth of smartphone users has increased the need for mobile device protection. “They require more care than PCs, because we carry them along and don’t leave them at home, as we do computers. Also mobiles are easier to be lost or stolen,” said Jorge of Eset Brazil.
Last week, RCR Wireless News reported that threats designed for Android represent approximately 24% of the overall number of detected threats targeting mobile platforms. And attacks against Android will continue to grow. “It might increase almost 50% next year,” highlighted Jorge.
The top issue pointed out by survey responders is related to information theft: 36.8% said that they are worried mainly because smartphones carry a lot of information. The second issue, pointed out by 27.6% of users, was malicious code.
Although increasing, mobile threats still represent a small percentage of the security market. In Eset’s case, the mobile security solutions account for only 5% of its total sales in Brazil – a number very similar to other countries. And, since in Brazil – as well as in other emergent markets – there is still a lot of room for growth in the PC sector, it might take a while until this mobile security segment achieves a higher percentage.
Eset started operating in Brazil just last year, before that the company worked through a distribution partner. Last year, Eset grew 193% year-on-year and the expectation is to close 2011 with 50% of growth.
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