Most Brits ‘Fear Being Out Of Mobile Contact’
Anxiety about being without a mobile phone connection leads people to check their messages at the beach and in bed – but security habits remain lax, a study has found
The majority of people in the UK fear being out of mobile phone contact, according to a new survey, which found that substantial proportions of respondents check their work emails while out of the office and take their mobiles to the beach.
Security firm AppRiver found that some 54 percent of respondents in the UK suffer from anxiety about being “out of mobile phone contact”, with women 17 percent more likely than men to be affected by this distress.
Mobiles everywhere
As a result, 42 percent of respondents said they bring their mobiles with them to the beach while on holiday, while 20 percent use a mobile to check their emails in bed, AppRiver said.
Twenty-eight percent check work emails while out of the office, while 25 percent check their mobiles during dinner dates, with women 10 percent more likely to do so than men, the survey found.
Despite the importance their devices have for them, AppRiver found that only 50 percent secure their mobiles with a password.
Security incidents
AppRiver’s study is the latest to find a lax user approach to mobile security. In June security specialist Check Point found that that 79 percent of businesses had had a mobile security incident in the past year, with these incidents costing 42 percent of businesses at least $100,000 (£64,000), and 16 percent putting the cost at more than $500,000.
Google recently filed a patent on the use of stuck-out tongues, wrinkled noses, frowns and funny faces for security smartphones, while chip maker ARM last year launched Trustonic, a firm which is to specialise in mobile security.
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