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More than 80% of Smartphones Remain Unprotected from Malware and Attacks, Juniper Research Finds
October 2013 by Juniper Networks
New findings from leading hi-tech analysts, Juniper Research, finds that more than 80% of the total enterprise and consumer owned smartphone device base will remain unprotected through 2013, despite a steadily increasing consumer awareness of mobile security products.
Juniper claims that the low level of adoption of security software can be attributed to a number of factors, including the relatively low consumer awareness about online attack on mobile devices and a widespread consumer perception that the price of security products is excessive.
The report found that nearly 1.3 billion mobile devices including smartphones, featurephones and tablets are expected to have mobile security software installed by 2018, up from around 325 million this year.
Increasing Risks for Mobile
The Mobile Security: BYOD, mCommerce, Consumer & Enterprise 2013-2018 report found that security risks are also on the rise due to an explosion of mobile malware over the last two years. It found that cyber criminals are transitioning their focus from PCs onto the mobile platform - across both enterprise and consumer segments. These findings support Trend Micro’s data showing that that there will be more than 1 million malwares in the market by the end of this year.
Nevertheless, the report asserted that steadily increasing consumer awareness, allied to far greater visibility of product adoption levels, had resulted in rapid service adoption during H2 2012, leading to higher than anticipated service revenues.
Growth in the Enterprise Segment
Juniper found that growth in the enterprise space for security products is being fuelled by a number of factors, including increases in IT budgets and greater implementation of security policies and security products; along with training for employees. However, with the trend of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) where employees bring their own computing devices to the workplace becoming increasingly common, a single policy or measure may not be sufficient and a unified perspective on mobile platform risks is critical.
Other Key Findings
· Despite the prevalence of free security software, the scale of cyber-crime’s expansion in the mobile arena offers a clear opportunity for the creation of a new revenue streams for mobile security providers.
· Device manufacturers and security vendors need to strike a balance between security and user-friendliness.
The Mobile Security – What’s the Risk? Whitepaper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report and the attendant Mobile Security Interactive Forecast Excel.
Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.
