Mobile Phone Security: Enhancing Device Security Measures

1/1/2019

Table of Contents
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................1
Methods......................................................................................................................................................2
Sample.....................................................................................................................................................2
Procedure and materials.........................................................................................................................3
Study Design............................................................................................................................................3
Data analysis............................................................................................................................................4
Results.........................................................................................................................................................4
Descriptive statistics................................................................................................................................4
Hours spent online..............................................................................................................................4
Mobile security measures....................................................................................................................5
Discussion....................................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................10
References.................................................................................................................................................11

P a g e | 1
Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the frequency of mobile phone use and the extent to which individuals
have secured their mobile devices against such security threats.
Methods: 502 participants were admitted into the study. They were randomly assigned to one of
the three questionnaires; Questionnaire 1 involving the last week, Questionnaire 2 involving a
typical week and Questionnaire 3 involving a typical month.
Results: It was shown that screen lock is the most popular measure of enhancing mobile security
and asset registers are the least popular.
Conclusion: Several measures ought to be taken in order to enhance mobile phone device
security. Among the measures necessary for enhancing mobile phone security include
installation of anti-spam and anti-malware software and use of strong passwords and pins for
locking of phone screens and applications.
Introduction
There has been an observed increase in dependence on mobile phones by both individuals and
organizations. Securing of data contained in these mobile devices has turned out to be one of the
basic roles of the device users (Wang, 2015). However, the security for these gadgets has been in
the past not treated as of prime importance. On average, just about 10 per cent of the estimated
85 million mobile devices being used today are secured (de los Reyes, 2011). Cell phone devices
are viewed as being vulnerable to theft, loss and hacking due to several reasons such as the small
sizes and daily use and interaction of these devices (Hoffner, 2015).
The securing of these cell phones for both individual and business use has turned into a
continuous hot catch subject in the news, however very little research has been carried out on the

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best way to take care of this issue (van Niekerk, 2010). Of more interest, Android security has
been a topic of discussion due to the rise in the number of these devices over the recent past
(Mutholib, 2013).The rise in the manufacture of these gadgets has come with threats such as
theft, data loss and hacking (Furnell, 2014).
Owing to the increased mobile insecurity (theft and hacking) the present study investigates the
frequency of mobile phone use and the extent to which individuals have secured their mobile
devices against such security threats. Potential threats to mobile phones include but are not
limited to;
i. Data leakage as a result of device loss or theft (Jeon, 2014).
ii. Surveillance attacks (Wu, 2014).
iii. Congestion on mobile networks (Nseir, 2013).
iv. Mobile malware and spyware attacks.
This study was motivated by the fact that many people use a lot of time on the internet or other
interfaces of their mobile phones but do not apply stringent measures towards securing their
devices, yet a lot of information exists in the internet on how to secure their gadgets (Wang,
2015).
Methods
Sample
Data was obtained from a sample of 502 individuals, of whom 269 were female representing
53.6 per cent and 231 were male representing 46.0 per cent. 2 participants representing 0.4 % did