CellTrust Sees Growth in Mobile Security this Year

CellTrust believes 2010 will be a milestone year for mobile security and SMS security in particular, as mobile devices and text messaging become more and more intrinsic to everyday life and work and cyber criminals move to this channel.
Sean Moshir, chairman of CellTrust Corporation predicted in 2006 the eventual use of agents or apps on the handset and his predictions are now becoming reality. Long envisioning a world in which the mobile device will be crucial to validating identity, he has been one of the industry’s leading advocates of the trusted exchange of relevant, often highly confidential, high-risk and personal data via the mobile device.
“CellTrust is on the front lines with customers all over world and we are seeing an increase in demand globally from government agencies, financial services organizations, regulatory bodies and corporate IT security teams for additional layers of SMS security to what is typically loaded by the manufacturer or carrier on the handset,” said Moshir. 
“Most mobile devices, smartphones included, come with standard SMS, which is clear text and wide open for fraudulent activity.  There is also no audit trail for corporations so compliance requirements are not being met.  Mobile banking, government and healthcare all require the ability to secure and track and trace critical mobile communication and we predict mobile security will continue to be a hot growth area in the coming year,” he added.
With an estimated five trillion text messages sent globally in 2009 creating an estimated $150 billion market, there is no doubt SMS is the most popular communication channel on the handset.  Its simplicity, rapidity, and affordability make it the obvious choice for the quick and easy transfer of information via the mobile device.  
SMS’s lack of security has opened up flaws in the last 18 months across all major mobile operating systems.  SMS spoofing, SMS phishing, SMS worms, and SMS hijacking are all examples of the way the SMS protocol is being exploited to initiate cyber attacks in various areas of the globe. It is difficult to discern authenticity of a regular SMS message, because SMS spoof messages usually look authentic to the recipient.
Further, testing security scenarios around SMS can be expensive and global carriers and other players along the mobile value chain have as yet not been willing to expend the necessary resources to secure the channel.