Mobility vs Security

10/28/2010 11:06 PM EDT

I use all the features of my personal iphone for protecting data if my phone was lost. The best feature is the one that will wipe the data if too many bad passwords are entered in a row. For business smart phone users it is essential that their employer have the ability to remotely wipe the smart phone of all data.

10/29/2010 6:59 AM EDT

I agree with Mark. We should back-up our data frequently & also adopt features that ensure data erasure in case of an invalid user of the gadget.
Remotely wiping the data is also a good one, though I have no idea if it is supported.
Can you throw some light on that Mark ?

10/29/2010 12:15 PM EDT

I agree with Mark, most devices provide keypad lock mechanism that render the device useless if the password is not entered correctly.
The problem that I see, in many users is the extra effort that it requires to have that engaged all the time and some loss of productivity if the process requires too many steps. I see many users, disabling those protection features at their peril.

I would like to see more biometrics and other more automated tamper-proof mechanisms, deployed. However, how do you feel about your finger prints, retina scans, etc. been digitized and used as authentication keys?

10/31/2010 4:31 PM EDT

I also agree with Mark, there are multiple options available. I also use a virus-protection on my smart phone, just as I do on my notebook, to maintain protection on free wifi networks.

11/1/2010 1:01 AM EDT

I use a Free software from Android Market called "WaveSecure" for this Purpose. I can remotely wipe off the data, get the GPS location and sim details of the guy who found it. The software will automatically inform to my other phone of these details and I can send a message to guy who found it :)

11/5/2010 3:26 PM EDT

I suspect that we are heading for a place where smartphones are seen as a major opening for industrial espionage, identity theft and other forms of digital crime.

After 25 years, we haven't been able to secure PCs from attack. Yes, it happened before the Internet. The first PC viruses were spread via floppy disks. I can remember IT departments banning the use of floppy disks from outside of the company for just that reason. They did spread slower, but it was still a problem.

Now in 2010, we've done such a good job of locking down PCs that we now have mega-botnets controlled by organized crime and/or governments. We have dark and shady corners of the Internet virtually guaranteed to lead to an infection and we have weekly security updates in a fruitless attempt to stay ahead of the nefarious crowd.

How can anyone think that we'll do any better with smartphones? Not only are smartphones easier to lose, they also move. Desktop PC's move virtually through the Internet. Laptops do that and physically move around a bit. Smartphones do all that and move everywhere. Not only will we end up with vulnerable areas of the Internet, but I bet it won't be long before we end up with real-world areas where phones will be under attack just by the coincidence of proximity.

It really will take a completely new way of thinking. If we can't rely on the technology to keep us secure, we'll have to develop practices and methodologies that make use inherently less vulnerable.

11/8/2010 1:00 PM EST

The iPhone has the ability to remotely locate your phone and wipe the hard drive if you subscribe to Apple's Me service ($99) per year. The service doesn't offer much else and thought that the price is a little high for an insurance policy.

I keep all my sensitive information in an app called 1Password which has two levels of security; one password to open the app and another to look at individual information. You don't have to add the second level to everything if you don't want too. For instance, right now I don't care if you know my log in and password to the NYT (when they start charging I may change my mind).

There have been reports that people have been slow in adopting location services, such as 'foursquare' where you check in with your current location. Supposedly crooks will then know you're not home and take advantage of the situation.

Smartphones are nice to have, but your paranoia can run deep.

11/23/2010 5:43 PM EST

As Bob said, I also use a password vault from eWallet on my iPhone. If someone has my phone and has been able to get past the iPhone password without wiping the data, they will not be able to get to my list of passwords without also cracking a much more difficult password on eWallet.

11/23/2010 5:48 PM EST

To answer an earlier comment, there are third-party add-ons for mobile phones that can remotely track and wipe the smart phone's data if it is lost or stolen. One company that is doing well in this market is Activetrak located in Portland, Oregon - http://www.activetrak.com/