A recent report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has highlighted that many people are risking the security of their data through accessing the internet via mobile devices.
The main reasons for this have been that many people (21%) claim not to have the necessary technical knowledge in order to protect their data. Additionally 19% of people would not feel confident in preventing a computer virus.
The report found that 67% of people don’t even have a password on their mobile phones despite the fact that 34% of consumers have at some point lost or had a handset stolen.
In a statement from Sophos James Lyne stated “it is essential to address the security and operational issues relating to mobile devices now rather than getting caught out later. Most data breaches on mobile devices are typically due to basic security failures such as weak or no passwords being in place, failure to encrypt data or falling victim to social engineering attacks.”
Forty-five percent of people have claimed to use their mobiles to access the internet. This is a huge step up from 23% in 2009. As expected the highest rate of mobile access comes from people within the age bracket 16-24.
Such statistics are only going to rise as people begin to utilise WIFI hot spots to a greater extent in hotels, bars and restaurants for instance.
Today only 17.4% of adults have never used the internet and that figure is relatively low when you consider that this takes into account senior citizens. It is essential that as internet access becomes more widely available through mobile devices the relevant security precautions are taken to avoid data theft or loss.
