At Mobile World Congress 2017, Intel Security attempted to highlight one glaring issue with a truly “smart future”… the vulnerabilities that come as a result of malicious and outdated apps.
While some may see this as a non-factor, outdated apps play a huge role in the malware in smart security, more importantly in the average day-to-day of the typical consumer. McAfee’s Mobile Threat Report states that there are currently more than four thousand potentially malicious apps that were removed from Google Play alone (without notifying users). And although these apps were removed from the popular Android store, even more devices (500,000 + to be exact) still have these apps installed and are active.
Vulnerabilities on devices that we carry with us on a day-to-day are a bigger deal, thanks to all of the information that we have on those devices — from passwords to personal information — so Intel and Intel Security want to rectify this ongoing problem by partnering up with Humax to give a more secure system courtesy of Humax’s Quantum T9 router.
Built on a layer of McAfee’s Secure Home Platform, the Quantum T9 router will manage and secure the devices that run in your home, be it your tablets, smartphones and desktops alike, all in real-time.
“Findings from our recent survey results revealed that more than three-quarters of parents (80%) are concerned about their children interacting with a social predator or cybercriminal online,” said Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist of Intel Security. “Yet almost a quarter (24%) of parents do not keep track of their children’s device usage, and over half (75%) of parent surveyed admitted that they allow their child to bring an internet connected device to bed.”
“Intel Security in partnership with Humax will further help us to empower parents to actively manage how their families interact with connected devices in the home and protect them from potential risks. As we move towards the 5G smart and connected home of the future, internet usage within the home and the levels of data created will only increase, as will our reliance on apps to control our home environment. With this, we must ensure the appropriate security is installed in every touchpoint, from the network to the router to the devices themselves, as well as the apps and software controlling them,” states Raj Samani, EMEA CTO of Intel Security.
Intel Security wants to make sure that not only are they taking care of your security, but that you are doing your due diligence as well, so they’ve given insight on productive ways of protecting your personal data such as:
- Locking down your devices — An easy to figure out PIN code is just as easily compromised, so do your best to create complex and unique passwords that will prevent unauthorized access.
- Keeping your devices updated — Updates often come bundled with security fixes that protect the user from attacks.
- Take control of your home network — Just because you’re on your home’s wi-fi network doesn’t deem it to be more protected than a public network. Setting up a guest Wi-Fi network allows you to give out access to your internet to visitors, all while keeping your home network private and isolated from their devices. Because you never truly know what can be on their devices (and who might be monitoring them). Solutions such as McAfee Secure Home Platform can help you manage and protect said devices.
You can learn more about the Intel Security Platform by clicking here.
