Some four million Brits who lose their mobile phones are
exposing their companies and themselves to criminal exploitation,
according to a survey of UK phone users.
The survey, for security firm
Credant Technologies, found
80% of phone users store information on their phones that criminals
could use to steal their identities. It also found that 99% use
their phone for business purposes, even though employers of more
than a quarter have told them not to.
The risk arises because four in 10 of the 600 commuters surveyed
at London railway stations said they do not password-protect their
phones. This exposes business data stored on phones such as
business e-mails (35%), business contacts (77%), work diaries
(30%), corporate documents and spreadsheets (17%) and customer
information (23%).
Personal information at risk includes bank account details
(16%), pins and passwords (24%), social security and inland revenue
details (11%) and store credit card information (10%).
This information could allow someone to clone the user's
personal or even corporate life, said Paul Huntingdon, public
sector director at Credant. "It is imperative that all mobile phone
users, even with the most basic handset, password-protect and
encrypt them," he said.
Huntingdon estimates that four million people are at risk. This
is the 15% who store sensitive data on the 40% of unencrypted
phones that belong to the UK's 70 million registered users.
The Home Office this week gave £250,000 to link the
Police National
Computer (PNC) to the
National Mobile Phone
Register (NMPR) to help police check for stolen phones.
It has also been working with the National Mobile Phone Crime
Unit to develop safeguards for when mobile phones are used as debit
cards.
Home Office minister Alan Campbell said 90% of handsets reported
stolen were blocked within 24 hours of reporting. Police search the
NMPR on average 25,000 times a month.
The National Mobile Phone Register is linked to voluntary
databases such as
Immobilise,
where people can enter their phone's details. About 22 million
phones are currently registered.