Mobile Security Findings:

Mobile Payments - Trust Could Impact Consumer Adoption:

Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans claim that they do not have enough trust in the security of their mobile device to use it to pay for goods and services.

Trust in mobile payments was highest among the younger age groups:

• Nearly three quarters (72 percent) of 18-24 year olds and 65 percent of 25-34 year olds reported a sufficient level of trust in the security to pay via mobile.

SMS Outranks Voice as Most Used Communications Platform on Mobile Devices, But Trust is Low

Mobile short message service (SMS – 38 percent) surpassed voice as the communications platform users said they accessed most regularly via their mobile device

19 percent of U.S. respondents have less trust in the security of SMS than they did 12 months ago.

SMS ranked a distant third (15 percent) among the platforms survey respondents consider to be the most secure, behind voice (43 percent) and email (34 percent).

The SMS platform holds a higher level of trust among younger users, with nearly one quarter (24 percent) of 18-24 year olds and 21 percent of 25-34 year olds naming it as the platform they consider the most secure.

Trust in the SMS channel appears to decline with age, with just 8 percent of the 55-plus demographic citing it as the most secure platform.

Security Threats are Reaching Mobile Users:

18 percent of mobile users reported that they have experienced some type security threat on their mobile device.

13 percent of mobile users claim to have suffered spam-related problems.

Social Network Security Findings:

Mobile Social Networking is Taking Hold:

Mobile social networking appears to be gaining significant traction, with 19 percent of 18-24 year olds and 13 percent of 25-34 year olds naming it as the communications platform they access most regularly on their mobile device.

In Spite of Social Networking’s Popularity, Trust is Low and Seems to be Declining:

Just three percent named it as the platform they trusted the most, the least of all platforms included in this survey.

Almost half (41percent) have less trust in security of social networks than they did 12 months ago.

Security Threats Are Impacting Social Networking Users:

Social networking websites are second only to email as the platform on which consumers have experienced viruses most frequently (21 percent).

Email and Fixed Line Security Findings:

Trust in Email Security is Decreasing:

44 percent of respondents reported that they have less trust in the security of email than they did a year ago.

Security Threats Are Impacting the Vast Majority of PC/Desktop Users:

75 percent of U.S. respondents have experienced a security threat on their desktop or PC.

• 61 percent of these respondents reported that they have experienced spam-related problems
• Nearly half (49 percent) reported that they have experienced a malicious virus on their computer/laptop.
• Almost a third (31 percent) have experienced phishing attacks over email or instant messaging while online.

Cloudmark Perspective:

“U.S. consumers are continuing to spread their electronic activities across a growing range of communications platforms, but increasing security concerns could pose a threat to their continued adoption if not addressed. The success of these consumer services, as well as emerging enhanced messaging services – depends on the quality of the end user experience,” said Jacinta Tobin, senior vice president of worldwide sales and business development at Cloudmark.

“Messages must be delivered on time, and the communication channel must be kept clean of security threats such as phishing, fraud and spam. Cloudmark is committed to providing the cross-platform, carrier-grade messaging infrastructure and security solutions necessary to help service providers and operators protect users of mobile, social and fixed-line networks from these advanced threats and deliver the best possible end-user experience.”