Abstract
With mobile phones continuing to become available to an increasing number of people, security issues are receiving more and more attention. This report will start out with an analysis of the first mobile phone virus, Cabir, which was discovered in 2004, and will list the different types of information security threats that mobile phones are prone to as well as the ways in which these viruses are transmitted. Information on the demand for information security in the mobile phone market will also be provided.
There are roughly three main sources of demand for information security in the mobile phone market. The first main source of demand includes parties such as mobile communications system providers, mobile phone manufacturers, and imbedded software developers. The second main source of demand is corporate users, and the third source of demand is regular consumers.
Safety and the quality of communication are key factors behind consumers' decisions when purchasing a mobile phone. In order to improve sales, mobile communications system providers, mobile phone manufacturers, and imbedded software developers are working hard at improving and strengthening mobile phone security. Mobile communications system providers have been working closely with antivirus software companies in a bid to assure normal operation of their systems, improve the quality of communication, and protect systems from breaking down due to attacks of malicious programs. Mobile phone manufacturers have been strengthening the safety of using their products, such as identity recognition, access controls, and information privacy; demand for information privacy and access control is particular important. As information security threats will have a negative impact on software system security, imbedded software developers have been strengthening system security through in-house R&D or via cooperation with other information security service providers.
The importance of mobile working is increasing and mobile applications are becoming more diverse. Enterprises thus will adopt more measures to protect the information on their mobile phones, such as antivirus software, firewalls, information backup, mobile order certification, fingerprint recognition, and mobile phone asset recovery tools. Regular consumers on the other hand have weaker demand for security and judging from current usage trends, consumers are still mainly concerned with voice functions. As a result, Smartphone share in the consumer market will remain relatively low and demand for Smartphone information security will not rise significantly in the near future.
Appendix
List of Companies
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Apple |
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F-Secure |
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Kaspersky |
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Microsoft |
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Nokia |
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Vervata |