Office Memo 8
Office Memo 8
18 September 2003


Exposing your life - the bare facts on PDA use
If one in three houses in your street had its front door left open at night, you would probably think its owners were asking for trouble. It's hard to believe but the same ratio of personal digital assistant (PDA) users keep their computers unprotected with passwords.
What happens when your unprotected PDA is pick-pocketed to order, lost or stolen and ends up in the wrong hands? The thief could take money out of your bank account, have free access to your personal and business secrets and steal your customer database. Worse, you could lose your recorded identity. At the recent Combating Identity Fraud Conference, Home Office Minister Beverley Hughes said that identity fraud costs the country more than £1.3 billion every year. Also, it takes the average victim of identity theft 300 hours to put his or her records straight.
Not likely to happen to you, you think? Have a look at these findings from Pointsec Mobile Technologies' annual survey of how PDAs are used. This appeared in August 2003. You can read more about it HERE.
A third of users do not use passwords to access their PDA - yet a third use their PDAs to store their passwords!
The most common place to lose a PDA or other mobile device is a taxi
The second most common place to lose the machine is a bar
41% of people with PDAs use them to access their corporate network
57% do not encrypt the corporate data held on their PDA

Over a quarter of PDA users have lost their machine at some time
Over half don't bother insuring their PDA against loss
98% do not insure the information held on their PDA
73% of companies do not have a specific security policy for mobile devices
80% of users back up the information they store on their PDA

85% use their PDA as a business diary
80% store business names and addresses on their PDA
79% store personal names and addresses on it
75% use it as a personal diary
48% use their PDA for entertainment - games and music, mainly

35% create documents and spreadsheets on their handheld computers
33% use it to store passwords and PINs (personal identification numbers)
32% receive and view emails on their PDA
25% use their PDA to store bank account details
The same proportion use it to store corporate information.

These findings suggest that the PDA is replacing the filing cabinet for many users. They no longer keep their National Insurance or bank account details under lock and key at home, but transport this confidential information around with them. Many people are blithely unaware of the security implications of losing this information or not adequately protecting it. In addition, they could be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Users should become more security savvy if they are to safely enjoy the freedom and flexibility provided by mobile computing. They can do this by always using passwords and, possibly, encryption. Employers can help by introducing a practicable security policy for PDAs and regularly reminding people of it. They should carry out regular audits of mobile devices within the organization.
If staff use their own PDAs to store customer information, these should have on them a security system compatible with that on company-supplied computers. Users should never be allowed to bypass these access control systems. Finally, companies should always use the most up to date software to defend against known security loopholes.
The aim is to achieve the same physical security measures for mobile computers as are normally found in the office.

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Magnus Ahlberg, Managing Director of Pointsec Mobile Technologies, contributed this article. Our thanks go to him. To contact Magnus, telephone 01223 451 251 or email magnus.ahlberg@pointsec.com .

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