IT’s private

Ofcom report

• 80% of UK homes have access to the Internet

• 76% of UK homes have broadband

• 40% of UK adults use a smartphone

Image by: VEER/Corina Rosu

: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/communications-market-reports/cmr12/?a=0

Ofcom is the communications regulator in the UK and , every year, they carry out an extensive survey to find out what’s happening in the communications market. The survey asks questions about Internet-based communications, television, radio and traditional post.

Ofcom report

Smartphones are being used for:

•online shopping (57%)

•social networking (30%)

•tweeting (23%)

•watching TV content or films (22%)

Image by: VEER/Corina Rosu

The use of the smartphone is of great significance, especially when we see Ofcom's discovery that more than four in 10 smartphone users say their phone is the most important device for accessing the Internet.

Ofcom report

Image by: VEER/Corina Rosu

The moment people acquire smartphones, their reliance on PCs or laptops declines, sometimes dramatically.

The key thing about smartphones is that they are essentially handheld networked computers which also happen to be able to make voice calls.

Ofcom report

Image by: VEER/Corina Rosu

•3 different types of internet-enabled device

•A third of people aged 16 to 24 live in homes where mobiles are the only device used to make phone calls

•Online retailing increased by 30% in a year and is now worth £2.6bn a year

Here are some other interesting facts from the Ofcom report.

Ofcom report

Image by: VEER/Corina Rosu

Other highlights:

Spending on Internet advertising is now greater than on any other form of advertising:

• Internet £4.8bn

• Print £3.9bn

• TV £4.2bn

What does this mean?

Image by: Shutterstock/KOUNADEAS IOANNHS

Are there any security issues?

Firstly, that the distinction between the virtual and the real world has essentially evaporated. The Internet is now part of ‘normal’ everyday life. Secondly, that people will increasingly access the Internet via devices such as smartphones and tablets. Therefore with the growth of smartphones and tablets, mobile technology is now at the heart of personal computing; thus facilitating ‘any time, anywhere’ access.

So, clearly, the future's mobile.

In this lesson students are learning about:

• privacy issues associated with the use of mobile technology

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

• recognise issues associated with access ‘any time, anywhere’ on mobile devices

• appreciate the importance of access control

So what are the security/privacy issues?

Image by: Shutterstock/KOUNADEAS IOANNHS

Mobile and wireless technologies are part of our daily lives.

We trust that they just work but should we trust everything about this technology?

So what are the security/privacy issues

Some suggestions

Controlling access to personal devices e.g. Biometrics: authentication techniques that rely on measurable physical characteristics that can be automatically checked, such as:• face: the analysis of facial characteristics• fingerprint: the analysis of an individual's unique fingerprints• retina: the analysis of the capillary vessels located at the back

of the eye• iris: the analysis of the coloured ring that surrounds the eye's

pupil• signature: the analysis of the way a person signs their name• vein: the analysis of pattern of veins in the back of the hand

and the wrist• voice: the analysis of the tone, pitch, cadence and frequency

of a person's voice

The wireless medium• The wireless medium is a shared resource: anyone

with the right equipment can access it.

• Walls, doors and security guards don't stop the radio waves.

• You're not the only one who can see the access point announcing itself – everybody in range can use it (including those people whose devices automatically join without them knowing).

• Data sent over wireless is public which means anyone can see what you are doing.

Where wireless is used

•Home, school and public area hotspots have wireless access points for laptops or handhelds.

•Commercial applications such as card payment machines.

•Public hotspots can be dangerous – you and your digital device are visible and security is up to individual users when using public hotspots.

•What security can be put in place? Encryption, the secure versions of POP, SMTP and HTTP.

Personal data

• What is personal: phonebook, calendar, password, etc.• Your daily routine: where you go, what you do, who you know.• Where do you keep your personal data? PC, laptop, mobile phone,

tablet?• What data is somebody else keeping about you? Where do they keep it?• Is your valuable data wirelessly accessible? Can anyone access it?• Open access points can cause all sorts of problems that could lead to:

• data theft / financial harm• privacy invasion• others reading your email, instant messages or online shopping orders• identity theft• theft of information about your personal contacts, e.g. phone number,

email address.

Bluetooth• Bluetooth typical applications:

• Wireless headsets• Contact / business card exchange

• Bluetooth abuse:• Copying phonebook and calendar entries• Initiating calls and sending text messages• Denial of Service (DoS) attacks (phone becomes unusable)• Special kind of phone-tapping using a phone or a hands-free car kit as a bug• Track and profile individuals• BlueSpam, spam via Bluetooth to your phone, companies do this

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSCYfFa8D1s

• Bluetooth good points:• can be set to a non-visible mode• only respond to known devices.

RFID – Radio Frequency Identification• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10159315• These are small tags/transponders which can be read

wirelessly.• RFID typical applications:

• Access control / authentication, security badge, passport / ID

• Item identification, customer cards, goods in warehouses (not only pallets, every single item)

• RFID abuse:• Tracking and spying: open system, readers are cheap and

publicly available. Reading range can be extended using antennas

• Identity theft – tag duplication.

Task