Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security

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Study into the implications of Smartphone operating system security Financial fraud Privacy These threats are interconnected as a lost or stolen Smartphone can lead to other threats being exposed including financial fraud and privacy issues (including data and identity theft). The following section - ‘Threat analysis and impact to consumers’ examines these areas in more detail. Threat analysis and impact to consumers Lost and Stolen Smartphones According to Kevin Mahaffey, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), of mobile security vendor Lookout Mobile Security, lost and stolen Smartphones is currently the number one threat to consumers. This thought is echoed by many mobile security professionals. Whether it is losing a phone in a taxi after a night out or being a victim of a mugging in which a Smartphone is stolen this is the greatest threat to Smartphones. Throughout the UK, Smartphones are being stolen on a daily basis and the problem is growing. According to information that was obtained by The Times newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act, more than 170 iPhones are stolen every day in London. 12 In all, 10,000 mobile phones are stolen every month in London with two thirds of the victims aged between 13 and 16. The rise in stolen Smartphones was also recorded by the fact that in a six-month period between April and September 2012, 28,800 iPhones were reported stolen in London. Overall a total number of 56,680 mobiles were stolen in London between April and September 2012, equating to 341 phones per day. 13 This is not just a London problem. According to the same source between 2009 and 2011, Hertfordshire Police had 11,027 cases of mobile phone theft and Thames Valley Police had 34,439 cases. The police categorise Smartphones as C.R.A.V.E.D (concealable, removable, available, enjoyable and disposable). What is driving this? According to law enforcement experts the rise in Smartphone theft in the UK is being driven by the value of the device and not the value of the information that is stored (or can be accessed) on the device. 12 The teen smartphone mugging epidemic: Two-thirds of mobile theft victims in London are children or young adults. Daily Mail, 5 January 2013: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257536/Theteen-smartphone-mugging-epidemic-Two-thirds-mobile-theft-victims-London-children-youngadults.html 13 Thieves steal 160 iPhones per day in London in 2012. V3.co.uk, 15 January 2013: http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/the-frontline-blog/2236443/thieves-steal-160-iphones-per-day-in-london-in- 2012 Goode Intelligence © 2013 P a g e | 29 www.goodeintelligence.com
Study into the implications of Smartphone operating system security For instance a locked (tied to a MNO) iPhone 5 (16GB model) can be sold on online auction sites such as eBAY for between £350.00 and £400.00. That is a very good resell price as to buy a brand new 16GB iPhone 5 direct from Apple costs £529.00. 14 In the main, reselling stolen Smartphones will not be via legitimate auction sites such as eBAY and usually the actual thief will not sell the stolen goods themselves. It is easy to see how the high second-hand demand for these devices is driving the trend of rising stolen Smartphone numbers. Source: National Mobile Phone Crime Unit Get Safe Online’s Tony Neate, once a police officer himself, believes that the driver for theft is the “actual value not the value of the information on it”. However, Neate thinks that this may change when the thieves begin to understand that there may be more value in selling these devices to organised crime gangs who may be more interested in the value of extracting potentially valuable identity, personal and financial data from the device. For this to happen criminals need to believe that the value of this information has a higher value than the resell value of the device itself. Alternatively, if it becomes extremely difficult to resell stolen Smartphones it may force criminals to rethink their business model. Is information safe on a Smartphone? But once a Smartphone is lost or stolen how easy is it to get access to the device and extract information from it? Consumer survey research from security vendors Norton (owned by Symantec) discovered that 35 percent of Smartphone owners used no PIN or password to protect their devices and a similar study by McAfee stated that the figure was as high as 50 percent. 15 No PINS or Passwords: Most Smartphones will have an option to lock the device, usually after a defined period of inactivity or after the user puts it into standby mode. To unlock the device the user will be required to authenticate into the Smartphone, usually by using a PIN or a password. The problem is that not all Smartphone owners will set-up a PIN or password and if they do this protection may be easily bypassed by using a weak PIN or password that can be guessed. 14 Cost as at 16 th March 2013 and obtained from www.store.apple.com 15 Hackers, viruses, phishing: why all smartphone and tablet users need to know about mobile security. www.broadbandgenie.co.uk, 8 th March 2013: http://www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/blog/20130308-hackers-viruses-phishing-why-all-smartphonetablet-users-need-know-about-mobile-security Goode Intelligence © 2013 P a g e | 30 www.goodeintelligence.com
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Study into the Implications of Smartphone Operating System Security

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