BlackBerry holds on to security lead, industry experts say

Despite efforts from competitors to close the gap, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry is holding on to its lead as the most secure wireless handheld device on the market, industry experts say. Since its debut in 1999, the BlackBerry has had a reputation for providing secure communications. Emails sent on the handset are heavily encrypted, making it difficult for network snoops to intercept them. RIM’s messaging infrastructure, employing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) at the business-customer level and the BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) at the retail level, is considered one of the most secure communications platforms on the market. But competition in the smartphone arena is intensifying as Apple Inc.’s iPhone Google Inc.-sponsored open-source Android phones take substantial chunks of the market. Last year, market research firm Gartner Inc. reported that Android handsets had jumped more than 20 per cent in market share from the third quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010, reaching 25 per cent. Apple’s iOS iPhone operating system lost some ground, dropping from 17.1 to 16.7 per cent, but RIM’s operating system dropped further, from 20.7 to 14.8 per cent. As part of this battle for market share, some of RIM’s competitors have been trying to beat the Waterloo, Ont. company at the security game. Apple has introduced a feature enabling users to remotely delete data from an iPhone’s hard drive if the device is lost or stolen. A number of Android applications also help users protect personal information. McAfee’s Wave Secure program lets users lock the device remotely so that data on the handset cannot be accessed, and the mSecure password manager encrypts passwords, login credentials and other sensitive information. Last year, the United Arab Emirates and India threatened to ban BlackBerrys because their governments weren’t able to monitor encrypted messages. Although the incidents came as a setback for RIM, they also demonstrated the security of its services. RIM has since reached compromises with both countries. Some analysts say mobile security could become the most important element of wireless communications as businesses increasingly use mobile devices for confidential corporate correspondence and customer connections. Security could also play a crucial role in the way consumers use their devices. “It’s going to increase, especially with the advent of mobile payment solutions,” Ronald Gruia, principal telecom analyst with Frost & Sullivan, said in an interview. The ability to pay for goods and services with a mobile phone, a concept already big in Japan and South Korea, will pick up here, he said. “It’s important for you to secure those transactions, and if someone loses their phone, how do they track it?” Despite competition, experts continue to consider the BlackBerry the most secure device on the market. Roberta Fox, head of telecom consultancy Fox Group Consulting, said her financial services and government clients prefer the BlackBerry to other smartphones because they’re confident in RIM’s security. Janice Vickery, information technology and telecom manager at oilfield services company Precision Drilling, said the company has more than 400 BlackBerrys in the hands of managers, engineers and other personnel. She said the BlackBerry appears to be the most secure device on the market. “It always has been , but with technology so much more out there, you have to be even more conscious of it,” she said. Although Android users can download a number of security apps for their handsets, the operating system’s reputation was hit with a malware incident earlier this year. In early March, more than 50 applications containing malware were discovered in Google’s Android app market. In some cases, the attacks mimicked legitimate Android applications but included keystroke loggers and other spying technology designed to capture users’ credit card numbers and passwords. In a March 5 blog posting responding to the attack, Rich Cannings, the Google's Android security lead, said the malicious applications were removed and the associated developer accounts were suspended. “For affected devices, we believe that the only information the attacker(s) were able to gather was device-specific (IMEI/IMSI, unique codes which are used to identify mobile devices, and the version of Android running on your device),” Cannings said. “We are remotely removing the malicious applications from affected devices. This remote application removal feature is one of many security controls the Android team can use to help protect users from malicious applications.” But Troy Bennon, manager of Juniper Networks’ Global Threat Center, said virus writers tend to target Android instead of BlackBerry because RIM’s device uses the COD file format—a proprietary system that isn’t as easy to crack. “No one has actually broken the encryption of the COD file,” Bennon said. Arun Munje, chief technology officer of BlackBerry application development firm Vayyoo, said RIM has application developers “code sign” their software so that it’s easy to track who created the app. Similarly, Vikram Thakur, principal security response manager at information-technology security company Symantec, suggested that Android may be a victim of economies of scale. Malware writers target the largest mobile markets because, the larger the user pool, the better the chances of finding victims, he said. Bennon agreed, noting that the Android user base is the largest. For virus writers, he added, “Android is the place to go." Cannings wrote that Google is adding a number of measures to help prevent additional malicious applications from being distributed through the Android app market. “ are working with our partners to provide the fix for the underlying security issues,” Cannings said. “We always encourage you to check the list of permissions when installing an application from Android Market. Security is a priority for the Android team, and we’re committed to building new safeguards to help prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in the future.” news@thewirereport.ca

BlackBerry holds on to security lead, industry experts say

News | April 6, 2011

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