Mobile eCommerce Software Security & Privacy Risks

Security and privacy? Not in mobile devices

The mobile e-commerce market is a multi-billion dollar industry, gaining popularity as new mobile devices and applications are introduced to consumers. With marketers collecting personal information through mobile applications, consumer privacy is a concern for many.

Unsolicited Marketing

Mobile phone applications, used by consumers for e-commerce, collect and store data, ranging from the consumer's location, age, phone number and even personal contact list. The operators of these applications, to make a profit, sell consumer information to marketers, who in turn solicit and place ads on users' mobile web pages. Not only is the marketing unsolicited, but possibly hundreds of companies can access private information without consumer permission.

Identity Theft

With applications importing mobile users' personal data, this increases the risk of identity theft if the information ends up in the wrong hands. Laws and regulations lack clarity and depth regarding mobile e-commerce, leading to the possibility that private consumer information may be disseminated throughout various resources along the chain of businesses and marketers.

Malicious Domains

One threat that has already been widely seen through the Internet on desktop and laptop computers is potential malicious domains. These are websites created to compromise an entire operating system, in this case mobile phones. Operators of malicious domains have the potential to steal private information while harming the mobile device's user capabilities.

References

• Kartikeya Kakarala: Software Security & Privacy Risks in Mobile E-Commerce
• The Wall Street Journal: Your Apps are Watching You