By Chris Tribbey
Nearly 80% of businessmen and 67% of businesswomen every day use mobile apps that pose security risks, beating out Millennials (65%) and every other notable group when it comes to clicking malicious links and downloading infected files, according to a new report.
Looking at the mobile data records of 500,000 mobile users (including Android, iOS and Windows Phone operating systems) during a week-long period, security software company Kaspersky Lab and IP service optimization company Allot Communications found that, overall, one in every 30 mobile browsing transactions presents a security risk, along with one in every seven mobile app sessions.
In short, every time you browse the Internet or use an app on your smartphone, you better be wary.
“Our … findings clearly show that safeguarding users at the network level would be the most effective method for protecting against multiple types of mobile threats, as the security measures can provide a protective umbrella for all online activity,” said Yaniv Sulkes, AVP of marketing at Allot Communications. “Moreover, mobile operators are perfectly positioned to provide protection to consumers and businesses. We see a golden opportunity for mobile operators to identify and reach out to customers at risk, targeting them with personalized Security-as-a-Service from their network or cloud.”
On the app side, P2P file sharing, file storage, web conferencing and remote administration apps were among the most likely to present a security threat. One the bottom end of the scale, media sharing and instant messaging apps were the least likely to present a problem.
In terms of Web browsing, gambling (77%), shopping and e-commerce (27%) and finance (7.3%) were the top areas that presented a cyber security threat.
“ … Mobile devices are the main Internet access points for many users, while only about half of users use security solutions on their mobile devices,” said Alexander Karpitsky, head of technology licensing for Kaspersky Lab, in a statement.