Business Week has an interesting article on mobile viruses. This is something I’ve been increasingly concerned about as most users now understand the risk of viruses on their computer, but not so much on their mobile devices. Mobile viruses are a whole new concerns for so many more consumers as many don’t even realize the capabilities of their phones and the aspects that can be compromised.
Mobile viruses also will have an easier time proliferating, now that wireless-download speeds have skyrocketed and technologies that connect wireless devices to other electronics have become more widespread. One such technology, called Bluetooth, could potentially spread a virus from one device to the smartphone of a passerby. And a crop of new services that let users upload music from computers to cell phones could conceivably allow the transfer of malicious code sitting on an PC.
What’s bad news for users of smartphones and other devices that allow for wireless e-mail access could mean rising revenue for antivirus vendors. “There’s an inflection point happening right now,” says Sarah Hicks, Symantec’s vice-president for strategic opportunities. “Symantec feels that it’s beginning to happen, in terms of its becoming a real, tangible market.” A Symantec-sponsored survey taken last summer showed that some 60% of the 600 smartphone users questioned keep confidential business data on their devices.
There’s definintely a market here.
