JEDDAH: “Level of security” is a top or high priority when buying or using smartphones and tablet computers - and more than half are anxious about losing their mobile devices, protecting their identities and protecting their families with parental controls, four out of five people surveyed by Juniper Networks said. In a global consumer study sent to the Saudi Gazette Wednesday, Juniper Networks added that nearly three out of four people surveyed use their mobile devices to share or access sensitive personal or business information. The research, commissioned by Juniper and conducted by KRC Research and Synovate with more than 6,000 smartphone and tablet users across 16 countries, reveals a blurring of the lines between the personal and business use of mobile devices and highlights the need for more stringent and better integrated mobile security. Of the 16 countries surveyed, India (90 percent) showed the highest level of user concern for mobile security issues, followed by Brazil and Russia (88 percent each), Germany (86 percent) and China and Italy (both at 85 percent). Respondents in Hong Kong (70 percent), Belgium/Netherlands (74 percent) and the US and Japan (77 percent each) were the least concerned by comparison. Almost 44 percent of respondents use their devices for both personal and business purposes, while fewer than 4 percent use them strictly for business. If business IT leaders think they can keep the devices at bay, 81 percent admit using their devices to access their employer's network without their employer's knowledge or permission-and 58 percent do so every single day. “Smartphones and tablets have become the new onramp for information, applications and commerce - yet they are quickly becoming an onramp for security threats as well,” said Mark Bauhaus, executive vice president and general manager, Service Layer Technologies Business Group at Juniper Networks. “Fortunately users are growing very aware of the security, identity and privacy issues involved. Now the industry needs to step up and make security an integrated part of the mobile experience, not an optional afterthought.” More than 58 percent of smartphone and tablet users surveyed fear losing their devices and not being able to recover the data and information on their device. A similar number (64 percent) are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of identity theft resulting from the use of their mobile device. Parental controls matter too, with 53 percent of all respondents finding them extremely or very important. It may come as no surprise then that 41 percent of respondents said that level of security is a “top priority” and 40 percent say it is a “high priority” when considering the purchase or use of a smartphone/tablet. There is a gap between the level of security that users want and the amount of security they will manage themselves-only 24 percent of respondents frequently change the security settings on their mobile devices. Thirty-five percent do so only when a need arises, 31 percent rarely or never change them and 9 percent are unfamiliar with the security settings on their mobile devices. Moreover, 14 percent of respondents say neither their smartphone nor their tablet is password protected. More than 76 percent of consumers surveyed use their smartphones or tablets to access sensitive personal or business information, including: 51 percent to enter or modify passwords; 43 percent to access banking or credit card statements; 30 percent to access utility bills; 20 percent to share financial information such as credit card numbers; 18 percent to access employer's proprietary information; 17 percent to access medical records; and 16 percent to share social security numbers. Business and personal use varied by region and country, with personal use dominating in Canada (72 percent), Japan (70 percent), France (67 percent) and most other countries. China, Russia and Brazil were the leading exceptions with 75 percent, 65 percent and 61 percent combined business and personal use, respectively.
