Smartphones, Foolish Security Choices

One quarter of smartphone users store "intimate" images on their mobile devices, says security vendor AVG.

Thomas Claburn, Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

February 27, 2013

1 Min Read
InformationWeek logo in a gray background | InformationWeek

People with smartphones could be smarter in their security practices. One smartphone user in every four, according to security firm AVG Technologies, stores intimate photos on a smartphone or tablet, a practice that makes a lost or stolen device a potential privacy problem.

AVG didn't specifically define "intimate" in its survey. "The mobile survey asks whether or not people have intimate photos of themselves on their smartphone or tablet, allowing the definition of 'intimate' to be purely up to the respondents' interpretation of that word," a company spokeswoman said in an email.

... Read full story on InformationWeek

About the Author

Thomas Claburn

Editor at Large, Enterprise Mobility

Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

Never Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights