mobile security - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Hacking Team gives us incontrovertible proof of targeted mobile threats

  <em>This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.</em>

• With Android L, Google makes pitch for enterprise users

  Google will provide enterprise-focused security and management features to its entire Android showcase of mobile devices, including features reserved only for Samsung devices running Samsung security software called Knox, a Google executive announced during the Google I/O keynote address Wednesday.

• The Open Source Rookies of the Year Awards

  , the open source software management company, picks the top 10 open source projects launched in the past year, based on stats collected from the

• When in China, don't leave your laptop alone

  If you travel to China or Russia, assume government or industry spooks will steal your data and install spyware. Here's how to thwart them

• Passwords are the weak link in IT security

  Three decades into the digital revolution, passwords are still complicated, ineffective and a drain on IT's resources. What gives?

• Apple iOS: Why it's the most secure OS, period

  In June 2007, Apple released the iPhone, and the device quickly took off to become a major brand in the smartphone market. Yet when the iPhone shipped, security on the mobile operating system was nearly nonexistent. Missing from the initial iOS (then called iPhone OS) were many of the security features that modern-day desktop software has as a matter of course, such as data-execution protection (DEP) and address-space layout randomization (ASLR). Apple's cachet lured security researchers to test the platform, and in less than a month, a trio had released details on the first vulnerability: an exploitable flaw in the mobile Safari browser.

• Steps to secure your smartphone against data theft

  You may already know the basics of Internet security and keeping your personal data private while browsing the Web: Use a firewall, don't open attachments you aren't expecting, and never follow links from strangers. But what about your smartphone? The ease with which security researcher Georgia Weidman was able to infect Android phones with her custom botnet during the 2011 ShmooCon security conference suggests that anyone concerned about the privacy of the personal data stored on their smartphone should think twice before downloading dubious or otherwise untrustworthy apps.

• Five trends driving the need for better mobile security

  The pace of mobilization within many enterprises is increasing rapidly. Enterprises of all sizes and types are finding that going mobile can significantly increase the productivity of their employees, bringing added flexibility and cost reductions and helping many companies gain a competitive edge in their market.