Symantec: Mobile virus threat low

Security software firm Symantec, which recently aligned with Nokia to enhance security for that vendor’s Series 60 smartphones, believes the threat posed by mobile viruses remains low for now, compared to other ongoing security issues, such as theft.

“The mobile device threat is really pretty minimal right now,” said Sarah Hicks, vice president of strategic opportunities at Symantec. “It’s a problem just limited to open operating systems for now, and that’s about 10% of the total market. The more pressing problems right now have to do with theft, and how to manage prosumers bringing many devices into an enterprise environment.”

Hicks was one of several industry experts who spoke this week at the Mobile Business Expo in Chicago, on a session called “New Threats: Mobile Viruses, Spam and Malware.”

Symantec continues to forge device vendor alliances of the type it has with Nokia, but the company also must stay engaged with carriers, developers of operating system software and other companies to make sure that its security offerings, such as firewall and anti-virus software, find a place in the mobile device ecosystem.

“The web of relationships required is increasingly complex, and you need to be with all of these companies because in the end, who’s going to decide what gets on that phone? In some cases, it’s the carriers, and in some, it’s the handset makers,” Hicks said.

Regarding carriers, there has been some industry buzz lately about the potential for mobile carriers to offer managed security services to enterprises. While Hicks said the opportunity exists, she added that some of the larger enterprises might have a hard time trusting their security functions to a third-party service provider.

“I think a carrier play in the enterprise could be realized, but maybe not to the managed services level,” she said.

Still, carriers might be able to generate some new revenue from offering certain security capabilities or a security/theft program to individual users.