Insights For Success

Strategy, Innovation, Leadership and Security

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GHSA determines road risk of using a mobile phone while driving

Android, Apple, Behavior, Driving, Google, IOS, Microsoft, Risk Management, WP7, WebOS, iPhoneEdward Kiledjian
An American association called the Governor’s Highway Safety Association recently released a report that use of a mobile phone correlates with increased risk of accidents in the United States of America (USA).
To arrive at their conclusion, the association reviewed 350 scientific papers, published between 2000 and 2010, related to highway safety. Their review clearly showed that distracted driving accounts for 15-25% of all crashes (ranging from small fender benders to accidents with fatalities). Nothing here should be surprising as it based on common sense. What was interesting however was their assertion that “no conclusive evidence on whether hands-free systems [are] less risky than hand-held use”. 
They determined that text messaging (SMS) posses the highest and longest risk since it required the driver to stare at the mobile screen for long periods while composing and sending the message. The next highest risk was dialing a number but the risk duration was [understandably shorter]. Finally they determined that talking on the phone posed the lowest but longest duration risk.
Even with the release of this report, the GHSA stated that they would like to see more research conducted into this subject with more emphasis on prevention.
GHSA Report : Link 

Facebook has identity and your attention

Android, Apple, Facebook, Google, IOS, Identity, Marketing, iPhoneEdward Kiledjian

Facebook has become the premium identity management company on the web with 500 million+ users. Just think of how many apps allow you to log-in using your facebook ID (aka Facebook Connect). In late 2010, Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) stated that 10,000 websites integrate with Facebook everyday (that is over 3.6 million new sites every year).

Facebook knows who you are, what you like, who your friends are, where you have been (Places) and what you are thinking about (status updates). Do you think that helps when targeting advertising?

Remember that Facebook posts are [mostly] off limits to search engines which means Google can’t leverage your info to sell search, offer their services, create user profiles for better targeting, etc.

They want to know who you are and what you like so that they can profile and target you more accurately.

How much time do you spend on Facebook as opposed to checking email, searching the web, etc? Comscore says the average user spends 375 minutes per month browsing Facebook and only 231 minutes on Google services.

This “lost screentime” for Google means less opportunity to advertise.

Many users use to search the web for provider recommendations (aka doctors, lawyer, restaurants, barbers, etc), but now turn to their network on Facebook.

Facebook is now the number 1 source for product and service recommendations

Google is not standing still and is willing to try almost anything to convince you to move your identity over to them. They released +1 and opened Google Plus (Google+) to a limited beta group.

They also understand that in the next 5 -7 years, our mobile phones will become hub of our digital identity. As more and more users shift to smartphones, a new opportunity may open up identity management domination (Apple, Google or HP). Don’t forget every iPhone or Android device requires an ID with the publisher to work.

IDC predicts users will download 183 billion apps by 2015

Android, Apple, IOS, Microsoft, WP7, WebOS, iPhoneEdward Kiledjian

June 28 2011, IDC released an interesting report entitled “Worldwide and U.S. Mobile Applications, Storefronts, Developer, and In-App Advertising 2011–2015 Forecast: Emergence of Postdownload Business Models”.

They make a bold prediction that users will download 183 billion apps by 2015 (compared to 10.7 billion in 2010).  They further predict that the revenue model is changing from the traditional model (fee charged during initial purchase) to a freemium model (where the app is free but users may purchase additional functions though in-app purchases and advertising). 

A September 2010 Pew report suggests that 35% of the US adult population has a phone with applications. They further refine the statistic by stating “that means that 24% of U.S. adults are active apps users”. App users are also desirable consumers because they “[…] are younger, more educated, and more affluent than other cell phone users”.

Combine all of the above and it is clear that apps are money makers and are here to stay.

 

 

Is Apple's IOS or Google's Android more secure?

Android, Apple, IOS, Microsoft, iPhoneEdward Kiledjian

Which is better: Android or IOS?

Asking “which mobile operating system is the best” is a great way to start a mini war between friends or coworkers. It seems everyone has taken a side and is willing to go down in a blaze of glory defending their position. 

The fine folks over at Symantec wanted to determine which mobile operating system was more secure (IOS or Android). They then took the analysis a step further by comparing the security postures of these mobile OS’ to their most popular desktop counterparts. 

The risks

Symantec found that from a technology perspective, these mobile OS’ are more securer than their desktop counterparts but they highlighted the main weakness common to all the platforms : the user.   

In a previous article, I wrote about the “Consumerization of the enterprise”. They highlighted the risk of employees using their personal unmanaged devices to access corporate information then connecting them to outside third party uncontrolled and unmanaged services. This reality potentially exposes corporate assets to attackers. 

The Conclusion

Although Symantec did not clearly identify one mobile OS as better than the other, they do have a slight preference for IOS. Of particular interest was Apple’s application vetting process which adds a nice player of protection for users.  They went on to say that IOS’ architecture “makes it better at resisting malware attacks and data integrity attacks”. The cherry on top for IOS supporters is their final statement that IOS offers better encryption and more secure access control for apps. 

I doubt anything above would make an Android supporter jump ship but it does present an interesting perspective you should keep in mind.

 

The Symantec Press Release

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – June 28, 2011 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the publication of “A Window into Mobile Device Security: Examining the security approaches employed in Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android” (PDF). This whitepaper conducts an in-depth, technical evaluation of the two predominant mobile platforms, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, in an effort to help corporations understand the security risks of deploying these devices in the enterprise.

 

Chief among the findings is that while the most popular mobile platforms in use today were designed with security in mind, these provisions are not always sufficient to protect sensitive enterprise assets that regularly find their way onto devices. Complicating matters, today’s mobile devices are increasingly being connected to and synchronized with an entire ecosystem of 3rd-party cloud and desktop-based services outside the enterprise’s control, potentially exposing key enterprise assets to increased risk.

 

Click to Tweet: Symantec analysis finds iOS and Android security better than that of PCs, but major gaps remain: http://bit.ly/jYflt3

 

The paper offers a detailed analysis of the security models employed by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms, evaluating each platform’s effectiveness against today’s major threats, including:

  • Web-based and network-based attacks
  • Malware
  • Social engineering attacks
  • Resource and service availability abuse
  • Malicious and unintentional data loss
  • Attacks on the integrity of the device’s data

This analysis has led to some important conclusions:

  • While offering improved security over traditional desktop-based operating systems, both iOS and Android are still vulnerable to many existing categories of attacks.
  • iOS’s security model offers strong protection against traditional malware, primarily due to Apple’s rigorous app certification process and their developer certification process, which vets the identity of each software author and weeds out attackers.
  • Google has opted for a less rigorous certification model, permitting any software developer to create and release apps anonymously, without inspection. This lack of certification has arguably led to today’s increasing volume of Android-specific malware.
  • Users of both Android and iOS devices regularly synchronize their devices with 3rd-party cloud services (e.g., web-based calendars) and with their home desktop computers. This can potentially expose sensitive enterprise data stored on these devices to systems outside the governance of the enterprise..
  • So-called “jailbroken” devices, or devices whose security has been disabled, offer attractive targets for attackers since these devices are every bit as vulnerable as traditional PCs.

Quotes:

“Today’s mobile devices are a mixed bag when it comes to security,” said Carey Nachenberg, Symantec Fellow and Chief Architect, Symantec Security Technology and Response. “While more secure than traditional PCs, these platforms are still vulnerable to many traditional attacks. Moreover, enterprise employees are increasingly using unmanaged, personal devices to access sensitive enterprise resources, and then connecting these devices to 3rd-party services outside of the governance of the enterprise, potentially exposing key assets to attackers.”

Will mobile apps kill the internet?

Android, WebOS, iPhoneEdward Kiledjian

An interesting new report boldly claims that we now spend more time using mobile apps then on the Internet. Flurry, the firm that conducted this research, determined that the average user spends 81 minutes per day using mobile apps as opposed to 74 minutes surfing the internet.

The real shocker is comparing this number with the data from a year ago: 91% jump when users spend 43 minutes on mobile apps and 64 surfing the internet. Other interesting information related to time spent :

  • 47% of user time is spent playing games
  • 32% of user time is spent browsing social networks
  • 7% of user time is spent consuming other entertainment

The question many analysts are asking is “How does this impact the future growth of the world wide web?” At the very least, it might motivate your company to come up with a mobile app strategy as an integral part of your overall branding and marketing program.

Some nice graphs

Mobile apps versus Surfing the Internet

 

 

Division of time spent on the device