Australians would prefer a punch from Justin Bieber than lose their mobile

David Swan
Thursday, 07 April 2011 15:35

Your IT - Mobility

At a time when smartphone use has become engrained in everyday life as a primary way to communicate, work and share, a new survey from Norton reveals that 42 percent of consumers in Australia have fallen victim to mobile phone loss or theft.

 

The study found only 41 percent of Australian consumers have a password protecting their mobiles, making it clear that there is a growing need to protect important and personal information stored on mobile devices.

As annoying as it is to lose their mobile phones, 48 percent of victims considered the loss of contact information and concerns over privacy the worst part of the experience and also a significant inconvenience.  Frustration, anger and annoyance were the most common feelings Australian consumers experienced when their mobile phone was lost or stolen, likely because 77 percent could neither remotely lock nor remotely wipe their phone's memory afterwards and over half of all mobile users did not password protect their phones.

An overwhelming majority of respondents contacted their mobile service provider to resolve the situation as the first step and ultimately reported that it cost an average of AUD$197 to resolve.

More than half of the victims said that they were willing to pay a ransom (an average of AUD $140) to resolve the situation.  More often than not though, it is a case of 'finders, keepers', for lost and stolen mobile phones.  Getting help may not entirely be straightforward either, with less than 10 percent of Australians agreeing that it is easy to get help to recover a stolen or lost mobile phone.  Most agree that there are a limited number of resources available in such occasions, with 84 percent of consumers indicating that the experience was stressful.

'The survey results are clear: mobile phone loss and theft is a significant issue for consumers today,' says Mark Kanok, group product manager for the Norton mobile division Symantec.  'As smartphones become more pervasive in our lives, there is a greater need to protect the data on such devices.  This is one of the reasons why Norton is taking security beyond the PC to develop solutions that protect consumers, regardless of the device they use.'

The study also found that Australians are more likely to have a password if they currently own a smartphone or have lost their mobile phone or had it stolen in the past.  Currently, only 41 percent of users in Australia have password-protected mobile phones.  However, a significant number of Australians consider security factors before making a mobile phone purchase, with 70 percent noting that they are more likely to make a purchase if their mobile device or software is able to be locked remotely and has the ability to erase all the data on their device remotely.

Australians are very cautious about allowing software applications to connect with wireless networks or identify their location.  Only 19 percent of consumers indicating they are comfortable allowing software applications that access their personal data.  Australians were also hesitant to make purchases and conduct online banking, on average only 25 percent felt secure conducting transactions online.  In China, confidence was much higher with over 60 percent of consumers comfortable with all forms of online purchasing, banking and app access on their mobiles.

Consumers are becoming more emotionally attached to their mobile phones. Interestingly, 37 percent of Australians would prefer to be punched in the face by Justin Beiber than lose their mobile phone.  In India, Singapore and Japan consumers would rather lose their childhood photographs than their mobile and Chinese consumers would rather eat rotten eggs.  With mobile phones becoming such a central device in the lives of consumers, it is important to protect these devices and the data that is stored on them.

With an explosion in the number of mobile phones and the increasing reliance on smartphones, this means greater opportunity for cybercriminals.  Symantec has introduced Norton Mobile Security as part of the Norton Everywhere three-part initiative, which will address the most common issues for smartphones, including device loss and data protection. Users can currently download a free limited-trial beta version directly from the Android Market.