Apps more dangerous than human leakers

17 January 2014| last updated at 12:07AM

WHILE recent headlines have focused on the leaks by Edward Snowden and United States soldier Private Bradley Manning, the threats from lower profile "mobile pickpockets" who prey on smartphones and tablets may be as dangerous to corporations, telcos and even governments.

Now exiled in Russia, Snowden, a former analyst for the US National Security Agency, disclosed top secret information about the US government's mass surveillance programmes to the media. Manning has been jailed for disclosing military and diplomatic intelligence to WikiLeaks.

However, more insidious threats to enterprises -- often emanating from generally accepted global trends to promote office productivity -- may generate less media publicity but are a greater threat to financial security or the reputation of enterprises.

First, as more Generation Y executives rely on their own devices, such as laptops and smartphones, at work, an organisation's confidential information is at risk of being disclosed.

"Bring Your Own Device" or BYOD is increasingly a workplace norm as organisations seek to retain younger staff. And as organisations shift towards cloud computing, the ease of linking up various devices is difficult to argue against. However, BYOD has also opened up opportunities for cyber thieves to "phish" for information on the cloud's server, instead of the traditional platform such as personal computers.

The servers reside within the Internet service providers (ISP) that may often have lax controls, allowing hackers to penetrate them without being detected.

Secondly, as there is growing adoption of apps in smartphones and tablets -- including for use by enterprises -- cyber terrorists can now make use of this platform to commit crime.

A more ominous threat is the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets apps. Cyber pickpocketing is now scalable through apps, available for download, as worldwide smartphone sales, according to technology analysts International Data Corporation, are expected to rise rapidly over the next few years, reaching 1.7 billion by 2017.

Indeed, well away from the headlines, such app-based phishing and malware are a far more ominous and prevalent form of cyber theft. The individual amounts pilfered are insignificant and the theft can go on undetected for months or even years. This has indirectly granted mobile hackers impunity.

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Apps more dangerous than human leakers