With mobile technology beginning to play such an important role in people’s lives, security is not longer a thing that can be ignored. Mobile commerce is here to stay and that means that more people will be using their devices to pay for goods and services. This also means that financial information will be trafficked through the digital space more frequently than it already is. Unfortunately, many platforms simple do not have the security measures in place to protect everyone’s financial information. The burden of security also cannot reliably be laid with companies alone.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project recently conducted a survey in which it found that 56% of American consumers now make use of a smartphone in their daily lives. Many people are using these devices to pay for products online. Mobile commerce has, however, become a very attractive target for malicious groups that seek to exploit a person’s financial information. These malicious groups are finding it somewhat easy to accomplish this task, largely because people don’t take their own mobile security seriously.
There are steps that can be taken to improve mobile security, because security should never be something that you leave in the hands of another party. Keeping your mobile devices and applications updated is one of the first steps. Malicious attacks often take advantages of vulnerable operating systems and outdated apps. Installing an anti-virus application is the next step in securing your mobile device. There are a wide variety of security applications available for most mobile operating systems and many of these applications are free. Logging out of e-commerce sites after making a purchase is also a good way to stay safe. Avoiding the use of public Wi-Fi networks to make a mobile payment can also keep your financial information secure.
Being targeted by a malicious attack can be a crippling experience. There are only so many things a company can do to protect the customers it has and there are no solutions that can absolutely guarantee security. Taking the time to protect yourself can be a worthwhile investment.
