Hackers targeting mobile devices

ANYONE with a portable device – from notebook PCs to cellphones – should be constantly on guard for hackers trying to gain access to corporate or personal information through such gadgets.

Internet security expert Symantec Corp said today’s workforce is becoming increasingly mobile, with more workers using portable devices. This could allow hackers to access corporate or personal data over insecure networks, said Brian Foster, Symantec vice-president of product management.

“Hackers can easily latch on to a mobile device and use it to open a backdoor into an organisation’s database and steal vital information undetected,” he said.

An IDC report forecasts that the number of mobile workers in Malaysia will grow from the 976,500 recorded in 2004 to two million by next year.

Symantec said the growth of the mobile workforce would keep IT security experts on their toes as they try to keep hackers at bay.

According to its survey, it said, 46% of all data breaches are connected to the theft or loss of a mobile device.

It said its Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.0 data-loss prevention solution is aimed at making the management of IT security easier for corporations by integrating antivirus protection, antispyware, firewall, and device-access control into a single console.