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New Zealand poor at mobile security
Tue, 2nd Nov 2010
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Six out of ten (59%) New Zealanders never secure their mobiles, PDAs or smartphones by using, and regularly changing, a password or PIN a new Unisys report has found.

“By not bothering to lock their mobile devices with a password or PIN the majority of New Zealanders are leaving themselves unnecessarily vulnerable to cyber crime and identity theft,” said Brett Hodgson, Managing Director, Unisys New Zealand.

A lot of the information kept on mobile phones today includes sensitive data such as phone numbers, addresses, birthdays and bank account numbers. “It’s information which, in the wrong hands, can be used to re-create your identity,” added Hodgson.

This ensemble of information isn’t just putting users at risk either.

“Employers need to realise that it isn’t just the user of the phone who is at risk, but also the organisations they work for – especially since many of us use the same device in both our work and personal life,” Hodgson continued.

“The reality is that any gadget that has access to the internet presents a risk to an organisation if the user doesn’t secure the device properly.”

Do you lock your mobile phone?