In response to a new piece of research from ESET which revealed that 138,000 mobile phones and laptops are left in bars across the UK each year and 64% of them do not have any security installed, Craig Young, senior security researcher at Tripwire have comments on it.
[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Craig Young, Security Researcher at Tripwire :
“The first thing most people think of when considering the possibility of a lost or stolen smartphone is that it will be expensive to replace, but the fact of the matter is that in the wrong hands the data stored on many smartphones can be far more valuable than the hardware itself.
Passwords, location history, personal photos, and even financial information often linger in the smartphone storage making them a prime target for identity theft and other crimes. Consumers need to understand the gravity of losing their smartphone data and take advantage of security features on their devices that can minimize the risk posed by a lost phone.
First and foremost, everyone with a smartphone should enable lock screen security on their devices as the most basic precaution. Ideally, this means a strong password/PIN or perhaps a fingerprint rather than a simple pattern unlock. For additional protection enable device encryption to further reduce the risk of unwanted access to sensitive personal information. The latest versions of Android and iOS both enable encryption by default but some older devices it may require the user to explicitly turn this feature on. If encryption is enabled along with a strong lock screen protection, information stored on the device will be protected from all but the most sophisticated attackers.”[/su_note][su_box title=”About Tripwire” style=”noise” box_color=”#336588″]
Tripwire is a leading provider of advanced threat, security and compliance solutions that enable enterprises, service providers and government agencies to confidently detect, prevent and respond to cybersecurity threats. Tripwire solutions are based on high-fidelity asset visibility and deep endpoint intelligence combined with business-context and enable security automation through enterprise integration. Tripwire’s portfolio of enterprise-class security solutions includes configuration and policy management, file integrity monitoring, vulnerability management and log intelligence.[/su_box]
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