Security budgets boosted as malware attacks spread
Operators are beginning to feel the impact of threats on customer satisfaction and network performance, and are rightly concerned about the potential impact on their brand and the success of new revenue generating services.
So far, 83% of cellular operators questioned have been hit by mobile-device infections. The number of reported security incidents last year was five times higher than in 2005, and the incidents affecting more than 1000 devices doubled.
The research, by Informa Telecoms and Media, is one of the first to examine cellular operators’ experiences, attitudes and future plans about security.
The main impact of security incidents is to dent customer satisfaction, a key issue in an industry plagued by high customer turnover.
Nearly a third of the operators said subscriber satisfaction had suffered more than any other factor, including revenue. The second-most serious impact from cellular infections was on network performance.
Almost 80% said negative publicity and damage to their brand was a high concern, closely followed by the loss of credibility in their new services. That is a crucial issue as operators seek new ways to make their customers spend more.
Despite the fact most operators are experiencing security incidents and fear the impact they will have, there is a large gap between the protection they consider important and what they use. Less than a third that say protecting their applications and devices is important actually have that protection.
Good news for customers is that 85% of the operators plan to increase their security budgets to tackle network intrusion or network overload attacks, viruses, spam and phishing.
“Mobile security is moving quickly up the industry agenda with the number of malware incidents rising, and more time and money being dedicated to resolving mobile security issues,” said Victor Kouznetsov, senior vice-president of McAfee Mobile Security.
As the use of mobile data rises and operators introduce more content and transactional services, security was becoming an essential component for the success of those services, he said.
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