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Story: Gphone vs iPhone: The security debate

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Google Phone Mobile Security

Great article Tom; in summary I believe you said it all when you noted “no device which connects to the outside world can be totally secure”. As I consider the vulnerabilities that the gPhone and iPhone uniquely represent I circle back to the necessity of a mobile security solution in today’s environment.

I know as the Founder of MyMobiSafe.com, naturally I am more biased than others about mobile security. The underlying truth is that a mobile security solution provides a level of security that every cell phone owner should consider. As this article points out the eminent threats of the mobile environment, every handset has its own unique vulnerabilities. The true protection that a mobile security solution provides is the continuous monitoring of the mobile environment so that potential threats can be mitigated before they become real vulnerabilities at the handset level. I respect the move of Google to adopt an open platform, but the reality is that they should probably consider buying a mobile security provider (MSP) in the process.

The more I consider the dynamics of the Google offering in wireless, the more an acquisition of an MSP makes better since. The reality of the mobile security industry is that those of us already in market like F-Secure, McAfee, Symantec, and MyMobiSafe have all established the core technologies and monitoring centers to address issues before they become problems. By acquiring an MSP early, Google would be in the position to have the long term security requirements of the Google Phone built-in to the core operations of the MSP. Assuming a company like MyMobiSafe.com were to be acquired by Google, in addition to having a core mobile security group Google would be able to capitalize on the revenue generated by the MSP across a diverse subscriber group.

In the beginning it might seem be less expensive to sign an exclusive contract with an MSP, but in reality unless Google acquires an MSP to bring them in-house the level of security will likely fail over the long run. Realistically the more I consider the dynamics of the mobile security industry an early MSP acquisition by Google would seemingly pay for itself ten-fold. Either way Google moves forward, the reality is that mobile security is going to be a serious issue to contend with. An open-source OS only allows for greater creativity and thus greater potential vulnerability at the handset level. Android was a big move into what will ultimately become turbulent territory.

Your friend and mobile security guru,

Eric Everson,
Founder – MyMobiSafe.com
Eric.Everson@MyMobiSafe.com

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