21st Century Learning and Teaching

A shake-up is coming to the mobile security industry, and it will happen when Google begins to secure its Android environment, David Duncan, CMO of Webroot, says.

When you look at most of the mobile apps, you accept the application and its privileges settings, and there is very little ability for you to customise those settings, so you either agree or disagree.

App developers are trying to monetise their apps, because remember, most of these are being sold for $1.99 or they're free, so the only way that they are going to make money is collecting and harvesting data, and selling it to a data house, who in turn is going to sell it to advertisers.

Learn more:

- http://gustmees.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/often-asked-questions-are-there-cyber-security-dangers-with-apps-and-whats-about-privacy/

- http://www.scoop.it/t/apps-for-any-use-mostly-for-education-and-free

Summer 2013 App Reputation Report to examine the hidden behaviors behind free and paid mobile apps

The cloud-based, fully automated Appthority App Risk Management Service performed static, dynamic and behavioral app analysis on the 400 most popular free and paid apps on the iOS and Android platforms.

Appthority analyzed each app for particular behaviors within a test environment

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Highlights from the App Reputation Report are:

- Overall, 83% of the most popular apps are associated with security risks and privacy issues.

- iOS apps exhibited more risky behaviors than Android apps. 91% of iOS apps exhibit at least one risky behavior, as compared to 80% of Android apps.

- 95% of the top free apps and 77.5% of the top paid apps exhibited at least one risky behavior.

- 78% of the most popular free Android apps identify the user's ID (UDID).

- Even though Apple prohibits its developers from accessing the UDID, 5.5% of the tested iOS apps still do.

- 72% of the top free apps track for the user's location, compared to 41% of paid apps.

- Although paid apps already generate revenue when downloaded, 59% of paid iOS and 24% of paid Android apps still support in-app purchasing.

- Furthermore, 39% of paid iOS and 16% of paid Android apps still share data with ad networks.

By now, most everyone has heard the story: on April 23rd, the AP’s twitter account was “hacked.” The tweet, which was a fairly obviously fake, still managed to send Wall Street into a panic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 145 points in 2 minutes.

So why is this important? It highlights the reality of the threat landscape.

The point of the story is that mobile security isn’t just about protecting you from viruses. Threats don’t only come in the form of malicious applications that one inadvertently “sideloads” onto his or her device. Mobile security is also about making sure your data is protected.

It doesn’t matter whether the economic climate is good or bad, there is always a market for fraud. The marketplace for carding is growing and will continue to grow. And as the engineers behind these types of attacks get smarter and smarter, we can only expect to see them more and more often.

Laut einer Studie von NQ Mobile hat sich die Anzahl der Malware 2012 gegenüber 2011 verdreifacht. Im vergangenen Jahr gab es über 65.000 Schadprogramme.

Mobile service provider NQ Mobile today released a study of malware covering 2012, using data gathered from the company's Security Labs.

NQ’s data indicates that Android is a big risk for malware, but iOS has also recently come under fire for free apps that leak more personal data than on other platforms. Overall, mobile security is likely to be a growing concern, and one that could potentially become more complicated as the pace of improvements to mobile tech increases and our usage of those devices grows higher still.

===> For now, common sense is probably the best defense against security threats, but a more unified Android platform would help to limit malware problems as well as significantly improve developers’ lives. <===

Bringing your own device to work may be beneficial to the worker, but what about when personal citizen data gets loaded on to such devices? British authorities are firing off the warning flares.

The ICO this week published its latest guidance note [PDF] on some of the risks that employers face when allowing personal devices into the enterprise. While BYOD is on the rise in the U.K., employers must still remember that the Data Protection Act—which stems from a 1995 European directive—still applies to these devices.

Is BYOD a blessing or a curse?, asks Emma Byrne (@SciWriBy) Enthusiasts of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend are quick to point out the benefits for tomorrow’s business. Meanwhile, detractors warn of the increased costs and security headaches.

People may think their shiny new smartphones and tablets are safe from hackers and malicious software, but that isn't the case, Internet security

A new survey has found rising interest in mobile device management platforms to address mobile security threats. Still, few IT professionals indicate a real deployment of the platforms.

The survey found that 34 percent of respondents considered mobile devices a serious threat to business, and 55 percent said they were thinking more about the security of corporate smartphones and tablets than they did last year.

Despite the attention given to mobile malware and attacks targeting device owners, the biggest threat to enterprises are lost and stolen devices, according to most security experts.

===> The survey found that 10 percent of respondents experienced data leaks following the loss or theft of mobile devices. <===

There has been a veritable parade of headlines and news stories in even the mainstream consumer press about the increasing security risk presented by smartphones – a.k.a. the small yet powerful computers that most of us carry around in our pockets.

===> Trend Micro recently released data showing that there will be more than one million malware variants in the market by the end of this year.  <===

With the growth of BYOD, what security measures can IT take to ensure security of enterprise data – and does MDM have a role?

Unfortunately, the "EdTech vs. IT" mindset is all too prevalent in many organizations.  Operational IT looks down disdainfully on their users from an ivory tower, viewing them as "threats" to be carefully controlled and monitored. 

Teachers view the IT department as a bunch of out of touch control freaks who hinder rather than facilitate their work. As a former teacher, I have seen it from both sides.

This sad situation is wrong on many levels. 

===> The relationship between IT and users should be a partnership, not a boxing match! <===

There are a few snags that can get in the way of implementing BYOD in schools and are worth knowing about before setting out on a BYOD path.

1. Security

2. Safety

3. Affordability

4. Networking and Compatibility

There are some surprising numbers available that tell a dark story about mobile apps and what they can be doing on your device.

By now you've read about malicious apps that leak privacy data, but do you realize how serious it really is? If not, you'd better pay attention to the following statistics gathered by Symantec*. And if you think that Google Play is 100% safe, it isn't. I have some data that yields some shocking results about the number of malicious apps waiting to grab your data.

===> Unfortunately, the playing surface for Internet naughtiness has changed in the past couple of years and you need to know that it's only getting worse. <===

Spoofing, banking attacks, authentication flaws, and more top the list of 2012's biggest mobile security headaches