Mobile security concerns have dominated security discussions of late. Conventional threats have also been increasingly applied for mobile based appliances and security companies have introduced products catering to this space.
Juniper has recently launched a smartphone security suite. The Juno Pulse Mobile Security suite runs on all mobile operating systems and devices. It includes antivirus, personal firewall, antispam, and remote monitoring and control services. It remotely backs up and restores data and can locate devices that are lost and stolen, as well as wipe data from stolen devices. It also can send an alert when a SIM card has been removed or replaced. For enterprise users, it protects devices accessing networks with SSL-based virtual private network.
The suite is available now to enterprises and Juniper’s reseller partners and will be available to consumers before the end of the year. Service providers also will be able to offer enhanced security services like parental controls to consumers.
The mobile security market is growing rapidly. Last year, Lookout released its Web-based mobile security service. And Cisco has its AnyConnect Secure Mobility Solution. McAfee and Symantec also have mobile offerings.
The Juniper Global Threat Center, based in Columbus, Ohio, tracks mobile security threats worldwide and issue reports. The center released some research as part of the launch, which includes findings of a survey of more than 6,000 smartphone and tablet users in 16 countries commissioned by Juniper. Key findings include
- There has been a 250 percent increase in the amount of mobile malware over the last year.
- A Fortune 15 company discovered that 5 percent of its mobile devices (25,000 in all) were infected with malware.
- Almost 44 percent of respondents to the survey said they use their devices for personal and business purposes and more than 80 percent admit using them to access their work network without the employer’s knowledge or permission.
- Nine out of 10 mobile phones has little or no security protection.
- One out of every 20 apps in the Android marketplace requests permissions that could allow the app to place a call without the user knowing.
- More than 60 percent of reported smartphone infections are spyware and 17 percent are text message Trojans that rack up fees charged to the device owner’s account.
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