In a world of smartphones and tablets galore, downloading an
application has become just as natural as sending an email. One thing that all
mobile users need to take into consideration is the risks that come with mobile
technology. This month, it was reported that a downloadable app for iOS and
Andriod based phones was collecting address book information from its users
without permission. Several companies including Apple, Facebook, and Twitter
are all facing lawsuits
as a result of this occurrence. In a
blog featured in the New
York Times, it lists several of the applications that users have experience
this type of breach.
This may seem harmless enough, but it raises major issues
for security measures in the mobile space. Users need to use extreme caution
before trusting any type of application on their mobile device. While
extracting your contacts may seem intrusive enough, imagine the type of
information applications can store when using mobile banking. Perhaps the most frightening part of breaches such as these is the
fact that many times this fraud is preventable, just overlooked. As David
Morin, executive chief of Path, stated the data collection was not an accident.
Other personnel from the Electronic Privacy Information Center also commented
on the lack of understanding companies have on such data mining.
Banks, prepaid,
and other industries that collect personal information for the use of an
application need to be aware of the risks for ID
theft. Software companies and developers may have access to any personal
information stored on a mobile device. Even though mobile banking is sweeping
the industry, businesses must look into deeper fraud prevention
measures to avoid issues such as these.
[Contributed by, EVS Marketing]
