Official Mobile Security & Innovative Technologies Blog

Small Business: iPhone Goes Small Business!
Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com

Perhaps you’ve seen the latest iPhone commercial which shares all the ways that the iPhone can cater to small business owners? If not, check it out at http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/ads/. What I love about this is that it brings function to small business users that might not otherwise have integrated a mobile element into their businesses yet.

Let me say that even though I am a long-time fan of the iPhone, it’s not quite ready to replace your Blackberry or Palm… yet. This campaign marks another bold move for Apple into the highly competitive realm of phones targeting business users. In fact I might go so far as suggesting that if Apple continues to improve the iPhone Operating System and continues to integrate key business-friendly features that the iPhone could become a top contender in this market too.

Naysayers of the iPhone suggest that the phone is based on aesthetics more than functionality, but this is exactly what Apple is setting out to prove otherwise. Anyone that has adopted Apple products into their life knows that function is the core of their design. What’s more is that they do look great too! I’m hopeful that the next gen iPhones will correct many of the quirks that hold it back as a viable business tool. In the interim, if you watch this new commercial I think you’ll agree that Apple is gearing up to make a big splash in business-focused handsets. If you are a small business owner looking for a new handset, the iPhone might just be exactly what you need to introduce a mobile element into your company.

Your friend and innovative technologies guru,
- Eric E

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.

Small Business: Mobile Payments Big Money or High Risk?
Author: Eric Everson – MyMobiSafe.com

Imagine a world where all of your financial transactions are conducted through your mobile phone. A place where anything from transferring funds to pay your electric bill to paying for your groceries is all conducted via the convenience of your mobile handset. Interestingly enough, this is a world that already has the framework and tools in place for mainstream use. So why aren’t more companies jumping on the mobile payments opportunity?

Mobile commerce is a developing niche that has not reached a tipping point for mass adoption throughout the world. There are pockets of users that have been quick to embrace this new technology, but for far too many others it just hasn’t taken hold yet. For those companies (large and small alike) that have invested in the future of mobile commerce (to include m-payments, m-banking, etc) there is a lot of money riding on the successful uptake of this new technology. With these investors impatiently awaiting the surge of social interest in this technology it is the risks this technology faces that become increasingly apparent.

From wallet phones to mobile payment applications, there is an entire host of mobile commerce options to choose from already. This market as “niche” as it may still be is seemingly becoming flooded with competitors. From the industry titans of the credit markets to the startup mobile application developers, the solutions becoming available are numerous. In such an environment the reality of acquisition costs per customer begins to set in. This became a critical issue for us at MyMobiSafe.com too as the average revenue per user numbers were easily imbalanced. Whether you are a major multinational or smaller vendor this business like so many others carries hefty customer acquisition costs. These costs typically mean that these vendors must meet X many users for Y amount of time to even begin to breakeven on these solutions… and this isn’t even considering the exorbitant infrastructure costs that these companies face to deliver/manage their mobile commerce solutions.

Pretending that we can ignore costs for a moment, there seems to be an even bigger risk here… which is at the consumer level. I am a graduate of the Harvard Business School – MIT Program, and I am well aware of the textbook innovative technology adoption cycles. With that said, are mobile commerce solutions filling a market need or creating a market novelty? Sure it would be convenient not to carry my heavy Harley-Davidson wallet, but with tap-and-go payment cards, no signature credit cards, a gamut of prepaid cards, online payment solutions, and more is the general population looking for yet another payment/commerce solution? Failure to identify a critical need to adopt mobile commerce solutions stands as the greatest potential hindrance this market faces. Do we need mobile commerce solutions the same way we needed online commerce solutions? With all handsets heading toward the standard of allowing real Internet connectivity, won’t many of these unique-to-mobile solutions become obsolete given a narrow timeline?

I won’t even touch on the major issues of handset-level security that these solutions face, but the underlying question remains… could there be more reward than risk in this market? With consumers increasingly willing to try new technologies, this represents a real potential opportunity for this niche to gain some traction. Perhaps only the long-sighted persuasion of the markets invisible hand will foretell, but for now there are a lot of businesses treading water hoping that you too will adopt a mobile commerce solution.

Your friend and mobile technologies guru,
Eric E: AKA “The MobileTech”

Eric Everson
MyMobiSafe.com

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.

VeriSign Diving Into Mobile Security
Author: Eric Everson

This week VeriSign announced the arrival of their new mobile app: VIP Access. The application is designed to create a more secure environment for online transactions via the existing VeriSign VIP Network.

While undoubtedly there is a blatant void in this area of mobile security, there remains significant opportunity for VeriSign to grow their model. Currently there are only about 40 sites that are VeriSign VIP Network partners – the most notable of which is likely eBay/PayPal. So what is this new app and how can it help you increase the security of your mobile transactions?

Essentially what the VIP Access app does is creates a platform wherein a “Credential ID” is populated. This Credential ID is much like the 30-second Secure ID technology that exists within the VPN environment wherein the user has about half of a minute to use their ID to access their intended VIP Network site.

The move into this environment is well founded and given the proper development, this could prove to be a driving platform in creating more secure payment solutions throughout the mobile environment. The obstacle to overcome is that the greatest advantage in this VeriSign solution (the 30 second secure access window) could also be the added inconvenience that keeps people from adopting this app like they should. If you have ever fought with the Secure ID codes in the VPN environment, you are all too familiar with the urgency that is required – now compound that with the processing environment of the handset and mobile network and I’m sure you can see how 30 seconds is gone before you know it. On the other side of this however, the 30 second window creates a better level of user protection as even the most sophisticated mobile spyware would have a hard time executing within such a restricted timeframe.

Overall, I think that this is a great move by VeriSign and I look for this to be a growth opportunity for them into the mobile security sector. As I can vouch as the founder of MyMobiSafe.com, they will face many unique hurdles in this environment with a B2C approach. I suspect that as the VIP Network continues to gain persuasive new partners this will also act as a gateway of adoption for the VIP Access app. I encourage everyone to check out this app the next time you want to do some mobile auction shopping via eBay; you might find that you like the added security as you make your mobile purchases.

Keeping you informed with the developments of mobile security…

Eric Everson – The MobileTech

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.

Small Business: Thriving By Surviving The New Economy
Author: Eric Everson

For those of us with the audacity to remain firmly planted in our entrepreneurial pursuits despite the economic implosion around us, we face the trials of the new economy. While most media outlets are hinged on this word “recession” those of us running small businesses have come to know it as “reality”.

There is a simple fact that many people are losing their jobs throughout the world. While economists point their fingers at outsourcing and poor economic policy, it is we entrepreneurs that remain knee deep in what is emerging as the new economy. Personally, I am the founder of MyMobiSafe.com, we are a small mobile security company based out of Atlanta, GA, USA. For us the economic downturn had a profound effect on our business. We were beginning to gain some traction in the B2B mobile security sector and then the market started to change drastically. Companies began tightening their digital security expenditures which in turn meant we were losing customers. We came to realize that we could fold to the market pressure or do what entrepreneurs do best – innovate!

While we are still ironing out the wrinkles, we had to change our business into new areas. For us research has become a key element of our business model as it has always been one of our internal strengths as a company. We are now helping companies throughout the wireless industry with their research needs – both security-based and otherwise. Interestingly what we discovered in this transition is that by focusing on your core strengths you can begin to leverage your existing resources in ways that you never though possible before.

While our research doesn’t directly utilize the patent-pending MyMobiSafe Distribution Engine that empowers our brand as a mobile content distributor, it has allowed us to create key revenue streams that are allowing us to survive. Not to add a shameless plug, but if your company is in need of some mobile industry research, now you’ll know who to call. With companies closing their doors all around us, what we have identified above all else is that the new economy – the one we are all living each day – is one of survival.

In today’s new economy surviving is the new thriving! If you are a small business owner concerned with how you are going to keep your doors open, look inside your own company to find what core strengths have carried you this far already. If you can find a way to leverage those strengths in a way that generates new avenues of profit, chances are you too will thrive as a survivor of the new economy.

Eric Everson, Founder
MyMobiSafe.com
EricEverson@Hotmail.com

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.

Conficker Not Targeting Microsoft Windows Mobile Devices
Author: Eric Everson, MyMobiSafe

With the digital security world buzzing today due to the recent mutations of the infamous Conficker virus, many mobile users are concerned that their Windows Mobile handset could be in jeopardy too. The reality is that this Conficker scare is actually just computer-based and so far we haven’t been able to identify any mobile-based variants that allow this threat to bleed into the mobile industry.

Despite the advances in sophistication that the Windows Mobile Operating System has undergone, the reality is that the computer-based Windows environment remains much more robust. This differentiation leaves Windows Mobile devices much less at risk for this type of attack. What many media outlets have done to create awareness has actually created an environment of confusion for many users. At a high level while you do not want your system to get infected by the Conficker virus, it’s not a malware designed to destroy your computer either.

Overall, this malware has been designed to create a gateway between your computer and those behind Conficker so that an environment conducive to spamming and data theft is established. This is nothing like the viruses of days past that are completely malicious in nature and destroy everything in their path. Conficker to most digital security experts marks a new shift in the sophistication and direction of mobile malware. Rather than creating destructive havoc, the Conficker platform is more specifically designed to create a “black market” tool for e-commerce. Unfortunately the very existence of Conficker confirms the reality of that hackers stand to make significant profit by developing tools that target your digital information.

While a number of threats do attempt to exploit vulnerabilities within the Windows Mobile environment, so far Conficker is not a threat that mobile users should fear. As Windows Mobile can be a cornerstone of small businesses on the go, it seems that for now Conficker is one less thing to worry about. I appreciate the flood of emails on the topic and I’ll try my best to reply to everyone as soon as I can. The interest in this threat from a mobile industry perspective sheds new light on the importance of the mobile environment of digital security. I expect to see many of the digital security companies gain a renewed interest in mobile as a result of this high-profile security threat.

As always, I’m working to keep you informed on the latest developments in mobile security. Feel free to post your comments or send me email… on a day like this I’ll do my best to keep my Inbox from getting too backlogged.

Your mobile security guru,
Eric E – The MobileTech

Eric Everson – Founder MyMobiSafe.com

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.