Supporting all Android and iOS mobile devices, this product initiative is targeted at making security a more integrated part of the Indian consumer experience. The development is particularly relevant for India – which is the world’s fastest rising smartphone market slated to have 185 million mobile internet users by June 2014 (IAMAI), and the second biggest user base for Android accounting for over 93 percent market share (IDC). Device proliferation and the resultant application explosion has increased potential vulnerabilities and made ‘mobile’ a significant threat vector. This is validated by McAfee Labs that has collected 2.47 million new Android samples in 2013, with 744,000 in the fourth quarter alone, an astounding increase of 197 per cent from the end of 2012.
The latest mobile security trends report by McAfee found that around 82 percent of apps track users and 80 percent of apps collect location information – invading our privacy successfully! Additionally, McAfee’s recent ‘Love Relationship and Technology’ survey on Indian mobile consumption behavior revealed threats arising out of indiscriminate usage of mobile phones and sharing of private content on mobile devices. It unveils that 98 percent of polled Indian respondents use smartphones to take pictures and more than 66 percent of polled respondents claimed to share their mobile content.
“With India placed on the tip of mobile device explosion, there is an overwhelming need of adoption of security and privacy protection in our digital lives said Jagdish Mahapatra, Managing Director, India and SAARC, McAfee. With free access to our mobile security product, Indian consumers will be empowered to access all the benefits of this connected world and enjoy a safe mobile life.”
