Mobile smartphone security awareness is at an all-time high right now. The majority of smartphone and tablet owners know that keeping their personal information secure requires at least a bit of forethought. Simple acts, like setting a device password, keeping the system updated, and using secure wireless networks, can make the mobile Internet much safer.
Duo Security, an international mobile security company, has produced a report on the state of smartphone security. Based on analytics from the personal devices of employees accessing employer data.
The results include a number of insights into the Android ecosystem and its users, and here are a few highlights:
- One third of Android devices don’t use lockscreen passcodes
- Five percent of Android devices are rooted
- Over 20 percent of Android devices are running Lollipop, a full version behind 6.0.1 Marshmallow
- 32 percent of devices are running Android below 4.0, making them susceptible to the serious Stagefright vulnerability that was disclosed partway through last year.
Duo recommends Nexus devices, as they receive direct update support from Google. Delays from OEMs or mobile carriers can sometimes mean months before an important security update is made available to other Android smartphones. The company also suggests detecting users on a company network missing security updates, and encouraging those users to run updates when it’s convenient.
Duo has built a free tool, called X-Ray, to detect vulnerabilities to Android-based exploits. You can download the app from xray.io/dl on your phone or tablet, and learn more about the tool on the company’s website.
[source]Duo Analytics[/source]
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