Your smartphone app may actually be a threat

NEW DELHI: Nearly one in two Indians have granted access to contacts and mobile data in exchange for free apps and close to 40% have granted access to their camera,

NEW DELHI: Nearly one in two Indians have granted access to contacts and mobile data in exchange for free apps and close to 40% have granted access to their camera, according to a survey by cyber security company Norton.

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The Norton Mobile Survey covers 1,005 Indian smartphone and tablet users aged 16 and above.

Indian mobile users were most concerned about virus/ malware attacks (34%), followed by threats involving fraudulent access or misuse of credit card or bank account details (21%) and hacking or leaking of personal information (19%).

“Humans are their own enemies. Nearly 65% of Indians now access the internet more often on a mobile device than on a personal computer. So consumers’ usage behaviour is one of the major reasons why people in India are so vulnerable,” said Ritesh Chopra, country manager (India), Norton. “Close to 50% Indians have over 20 apps on their smartphones or tablets, and 36% of people grant the access to mobile data because the app they downloaded ‘looked cool’, regardless of its origin. Only 8% reject the request to access the data on their smartphones.” According to the report, nearly 40% have granted permission to access their camera, bookmarks and browser history and close to 30% have granted permission to apps for tracking their geo-location.

Talking about the new trends in India, Chopra said that e-commerce applications (76%), along with mobile banking (67%) and mobile wallets (62%), rank among most popular apps, preceded only by social networking (86%) and messaging apps (78%).

Attacks would mostly occur where money is involved. “Our survey said 52% of users believe their mobile wallet has come under threat. Attacks on such apps where money is involved would be a major trend in 2016,” a Norton official said.