Focus 2011: Mobile developers unlikely to make security mistakes of the past, says McAfee

LAS VEGAS: The emergence of mobile platforms has afforded security firms and OS developers a chance to succeed where desktop security systems have failed, said McAfee.

Speaking to reporters at the company's Focus conference in Las Vegas, McAfee senior director of mobile security John Dasher said that as new mobile operating systems are emerging, developers have the chance to build stronger protections into their platforms.

"If you think about it, there has never been a class of software with more attention paid to security," Dasher said.

"Security has been designed into them from the ground up."

Though mobile platforms have the potential to be more robust than desktop platforms, they raise a number of new challenges.

Dasher noted that many users neglect to properly consider the consequences of providing access to personal information to untrusted applications. Additionally, platforms such as Android which provide open application services can fall prey to rogue and malware-laden app submissions.

Ultimately, however, Dasher is optimistic that both developers and users will make mobile platforms more secure than their desktop counterparts, in large part because of the stronger tie many users have with their handsets and tablets.

Dasher explained that unlike work machines which contain company data, personal devices contain data such as family pictures and contact information. As a result, end users have a greater personal stake in keeping their devices secure.

"User education has always been a big problem for security," Dasher said.

"The companies that have successful security postures are the ones that get end users to be less of the problem and more the solution."