UITS urges cellphone protection

Cell phones allow students to access Facebook, YouTube and the Internet at the touch of a button.

However, the University Information Technology Services and the University Information Policy and Security Offices want to make students aware of the risks they face by not securing their phones and passwords.

“Smartphones are relatively new, so there aren’t any policies in place to protect this information,” said Scott Wilson, awareness, training and outreach coordinator for the University Information Policy Offices. “Students need to realize what data is on their phone and what can be done with it.”

Information stored on a smartphone, from social networking to location data, can be used to exploit people who lose their phones and do not have any kind of
security in place.

“The only reason that I have a pass code on my phone is because I don’t want people going through my stuff,” junior Chris Kimbro said. “I think that some students don’t care about being safe because they don’t see anything bad happening to them.”

Wilson said he believes students are unaware of the risks they face when they leave their phones unprotected. The first basic precaution that students could take, he said, is to enable a pin number on their phone. This can help protect any information that a phone holds if it gets lost or stolen.

“Hackers generally go for the path of least resistance,” Wilson said. “They are lazy and don’t want to work that hard, but if they really want to get something from you, they will.”

Many smartphone platforms, including Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian, have anti-theft and/or tracking applications available and also provide a remote wipe option if the device is lost or taken.

“I don’t do anything to protect my phone from hackers or viruses,” sophomore Emily Meister said. “Honestly, I feel like my information is protected.”

Wilson said many students feel this way, but smartphones are becoming even more vulnerable. Viruses, for example, can be written for phones and transferred in multiple ways.

“Students face external and internal dangers,” Wilson said. “They need to understand that every piece of information they store and send creates more of a risk.”
Another precaution is to enable data encryption features if any are provided for the device. This can help protect any data or e-mail information sent from a smartphone by converting plaintext into ciphertext that cannot be read.

“I think there will always be risks for anyone who chooses to put information about themselves or anyone else through the web,” Meister said. “It is certainly a gamble because everything posted always remains posted and even if it is deleted, it can always resurface.”

The most important thing Wilson said he thinks students should understand is how their applications work and what they do.

“There is nothing that we can do to help students who understand the risks and choose not to care,” Wilson said. “Security and privacy often involves tradeoffs. Sometimes giving up a little convenience in order to stay safe is worth it.”