Mobile users remain passive over security

A smartphone user browses articles on social media. Some 74.3 percent of handsets used in Korea are estimated to be smartphones as of the end of
2013, showing the highest penetration rate in the world. / Korea Times file

Survey shows collegians seldom use anti-virus apps on smartphones

By Yoon Sung-won, Park Jin-hai

Smart devices have become an integral part of the daily lives of Koreans. People use them for a variety of purposes ― communication, work, play and shopping.

Nevertheless, a majority of people, including younger generations, are somewhat incautious about protecting personal information on their smart devices even when they are aware of the importance of doing so.

According to government data, the penetration rate of smart handsets here was estimated to be 74.3 percent at the end of last year, higher than in any other country in the world. The rate for tablet computers stood at 25 percent.

Strategy Analytics, a global market researcher, expects this rate to reach 43.9 percent in 2018.

These figures reflect how dependant they are on them both at home and at work.
Contrary to such a high dependency, many young Koreans who tend to spend more time with smart devices compared to older generations, do little to ensure security on their mobile devices.

People use smartphones in a subway train in Seoul in this June 4, 2013, file photo. A majority of Koreans, including the younger generation are lackadaisical over protecting personal information on their smart devices even if they are aware of the importance of doing so. / Korea Times

They also recognize the importance of mobile security despite that they take insufficient action to achieve it.

According to a survey of 319 local college students released in June by AhnLab, a leading security software developer in Korea, 97 percent of respondents answered that they understand the need for smartphone security.

Seventy-seven percent of them said they have downloaded and installed anti-virus applications. This reflects heightened awareness about mobile security among college students amid a series of security breaches including smishing and leaks of personal information.

However, less than half of the respondents turned out to be lax when taking active measures to tighten security on their smartphones.

When asked if their mobile anti-virus program is up-to-date, only 59 percent said "yes." Some 65 percent of them said they barely or never run the mobile anti-virus application regularly, and only 43 percent of users have activated a function that blocks unknown applications to be allowed on their smart devices.

These figures show that many college students are not utilizing anti-virus applications even when they are installed.

In addition, over 45 percent of them said they have downloaded software from unauthorized application sources.

Chung Eun-ji, 28, went to the police on Friday because she has fallen victim to the so-called "small-amount mobile payment" scam that has increasingly become pervasive in Korean society.

"I received an invitation on my phone. When one of my friends announced her wedding in August a few days ago, I asked her to send me a mobile invitation instead of a card," she said.

"Mobile invitations, as you know, are fast. They are also convenient reminders of an approaching wedding, since they display the basic information that I need to know_ the date, time and place of the ceremony," she added.

Chung said the text message that she received required her to download an "e-post" application which she downloaded without any reservations.

She said a message popped up and asked her to type in my phone number. After she did so, she started to get text messages from unknown numbers, she said.

"Text messages were sent to me confirming that I had subscribed to websites that sell mobile game items, although I have never downloaded or played such games. And then web portals such as Naver and Daum as well as music streaming service Melon sent me messages containing serial numbers, the same kind information that you need to confirm yourself on mobile phones," she said.

What's more, when she checked the phone bill, a total of 99,000 won was paid for using a service at Afreeca TV, an online live-streaming channel. She said that she never used it.

"I tried to call my mobile phone service center, but the automated voice said that it was not office hours. When I reached the Cyber Bureau under the National Police Agency, the official said that I needed to prepare some documents and report the case to the police," she said.

"From the behavior, I suppose the hacker is a teenager. Although I heard that in the cases like mine, I can get my money back, still I feel uneasy that my personal information has been leaked to a stranger."

In the mobile era where e-wallet services have been introduced to make small-sum transactions instant and easy, Park Soo-kyung maintains her old ways.

"When I need to send money to an account, I visit a nearby bank. Although I use online shopping sites, I don't use Internet banking or mobile banking services," she said.

Park said that although there is a small inconvenience, a 15-minute walk from her place, it gives her a greater sense of security.

"Nowadays hacking has become more sophisticated and it makes me afraid. People are lured onto fake bank websites and get robbed of their certificate of personal information authentication which is installed on their smartphones. It's happening even when they hold their handsets in their hands," she said.

"I just don't feel safe about sending money through smartphones. What if I lose my handset with all the banking information?"

Park said that although the government has upped the measures to protect personal information, people who deal with it in the field such as staffers of mobile phone stores have a low level of security awareness.

"There are many shops where many staffers still ask for personal information for memberships and coupons. At a time when resident registration numbers are traded on-line, as cheaply as 10-won each, and more than half of the populace's personal information is said to be hacked, I think the best policy to secure my account it to limit the chances of revealing personal information," she said.

Experts suggest younger people should take more active measures as they tend to use smartphones more.

"Younger generations who use smartphones more frequently are more likely to become targets of hacking attacks," a representative at AhnLab said. "Since mobile devices can be damaged by malicious codes not only through smishing but also from other routes, it is important to practice security measures, running a virus check with applications, for instance, on a regular basis."

He said that users may protect their mobile devices from malicious codes through simple security practices. For example, they need to avoid acknowledging unknown website addresses sent from text messages or social networking service accounts.

"More basically, users need to download applications that detect viruses, malicious codes and smishing threats and run and update them regularly," he added.