Is Mobile Banking Safe: Redefining Mobile Security through App Verification

Is Mobile Banking Safe: Redefining Mobile Security through App Verification
Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com

I was told with optimism recently that there is an upswing expected in the use of mobile banking services in the year ahead for key markets within the US and EU. The trouble is however, this growth is hinged on one MAJOR hurdle which is security.

Just the other week for example, news spread from media sources like USAToday.com confirmed that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) removed more than 50 mobile banking apps from its Android Market. These apps were just a few of the growing number of phishing apps that hackers are releasing into the financial services sector of mobile banking. The questions on the minds of many is, “How could this happen and is my mobile banking app safe?”

The problem is that until recently there has not been a third-party verification process to ensure the security of these apps, which is exactly why many have started looking for the MyMobiSafe Verified logo before they buy or use their apps. MyMobiSafe.com has introduced the wireless industry’s first verification process for app developers. What makes the company standout is that they work directly with app developers to credential mobile apps across all platforms. From Symbian and BlackBerry apps to Java and Android apps, MyMobiSafe Verified is certainly putting its mark on the industry.

As a mobile security professional, I literally come in contact with thousands of apps in a given week and one thing that is missing from 99% of them is an element of security. The reality is that app users want apps that are fast loading and easy to use; adding in security features to these apps more often than not makes them too robust and slow. In a market where app developers are sometimes making pennies on the dollar from each app they sell, sacrificing the user experience is not worth adding burdensome security protocols.

Mobile banking apps often have more security built-in, but without a verified logo from a credible third party, users simply just do not know what apps they can trust. Digging deeper into the issue of the phishing apps that are becoming so popularized in mobile financial services, mobile security solutions on your handset will not make your information more secure if you are voluntarily putting it into these dangerous apps. This is not to discount the importance of mobile security software on your handset as the state of device-level security remains very limited on most mobile phones.

Mobile verification is a new method that is redefining the way we view security as a mobile community. People are starting to look for the seal of approval from services like MyMobiSafe Verified before they use new mobile apps. This is a paradigm shift from the days when it seemed that any app downloaded from a reputable mobile content distributor (i.e. App Store, Android Market, BlackBerry App World, GetJar, and others) was considered harmless. Today more than ever, the uptick in popularity of mobile financial services is being targeted. Without an authenticated MyMobiSafe Verified logo, how do you REALLY know your app is safe?

About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com. To get started with your MyMobiSafe Verification simply email: GetVerifed@MyMobiSafe.com.

Ref:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/01/google-removes-banking-apps-from-android-marketplace/1

Verified Mobile Apps?

Verified Mobile Apps?

Author: Eric Everson

Verified services are nothing new to the digital environment; simply look at the success of Verisign, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSN), a company which offers a variety of Internet and communications-related services. While offering a myriad of services all targeting computing industry, VeriSign is perhaps most recognized by its Certificate Services (verification) logo. As the digital environment became riddled with malware, verification quickly took a leading role toward improving digital security and essentially paved the way for eCommerce as we know it today. With smartphones quickly stepping into digital territory which was recently exclusive to computers, verified services are going mobile.

If you perform a Google search for “Verified Mobile Apps” you are certain to encounter JavaVerified, which is Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) verified service arm for Java developers. The Java Verified Program is exclusively for Java apps for the mobile and computing environments. As you scan through your Google search what you will likely also see is information about MyMobiSafe.com, who has released MyMobiSafe Verified, the wireless industry’s first verified services that caters to mobile app developers exclusively. While MyMobiSafe is emerging as the leader in verified mobile apps and mobile verification services, it is truly the rise in security related issues within the mobile environment that has introduced a need for such services.

From the iPhone (NASDAQ: AAPL) to the myriad of new mobile devices arriving with the Android Operating System (NASDAQ: GOOG), mobile users are hungry for new apps. This has led to the introduction of mobile malware cloaked as legitimate apps (already found in both platforms in 2010). This has app developers scrambling to identify a credential, like MyMobiSafe Verified, that “would be customers” could recognize to differentiate their apps from those that could be tainted by hackers.

MyMobiSafe Verified introduces a comprehensive five phase verification process, which is designed to document, test, and sign mobile apps to ensure their security within the mobile community. Where many app developers may forego built-in security protocols due to the threat of hindering their apps performance, MyMobiSafe Verified provides a unique affordable alternative. With mobile apps for financial services on the rise (banking, money transfer, ePayments, etc) the need for verification is certain throughout the mobile industry. For anyone who has ever put their money where their mobile is, the fears can be all too real.

About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com. To get started with your MyMobiSafe Verification simply email: GetVerifed@MyMobiSafe.com.

The Importance of Verification in an App-driven Mobile Industry

The Importance of Verification in an App-driven Mobile Industry

Author: Eric Everson, Founder MyMobiSafe.com

The future of mobile essentially belongs to the company that offers the best apps. As Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) revolutionized the digital music business with their iTunes Store, the company is carrying that momentum forward in mobile with their App Store. Meanwhile, companies like Google with its Android OS and BlackBerry are beginning to make a momentous shift in this direction too. With over 10,000 new apps being developed each week, mobile verification will play a major role in the app-driven future of the wireless industry.

Many are familiar with the Apple “vetting process” that new iPhone apps must undergo; this is a process that literally dissects every app that is submitted to the App Store. The vetting process has become a roadblock that many developers struggle to overcome. As Brian Heater of PCMag.com writes, “The company recently celebrated the submission of the 100,000th app for the platform. "Submission" is a key word. No one but Apple knows precisely how many apps have been rejected. And the company hasn't exactly publicized what many developers have deemed an overzealous and somewhat arbitrary vetting process.” (Heater, 2009) Many app developers are opting to forego the bureaucracy of the Apple policies in favor of programming for the rapidly growing Android OS.

The vetting process is far less strenuous for Android and BlackBerry apps, which has incited concern amongst many users regarding the safety and quality of the apps they are downloading. This is exactly why developers and app users alike are coming to recognize the MyMobiSafe Verified logo as a premier mark of quality throughout the industry. The MyMobiSafe 5-Phase Verification process, is remarkably more friendly for app developers as it is essentially a process where developers work one-on-one with MyMobiSafe experts to ensure the quality and security of the apps they want to credential. The MyMobiSafe Verified logo is quickly becoming the stamp of approval that everyone in the industry is looking for.

As MyMobiSafe recently launched this innovative credential, it is not likely to get developers through the arduous Apple vetting process any quicker – yet. MyMobiSafe.com hopes to work directly with companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Nokia and others in the future to continue to grow the prevalence of this mark throughout the industry. The MyMobiSafe Team realized this gaping void in the market and has worked tirelessly for many months to introduce the wireless industry’s first verification services for mobile app developers.

Apps are becoming a big business opportunity and many developers, from independent programmers to major corporate development firms, are looking for a stamp of quality to differentiate their products in the marketplace. As the vetting processes for new apps are unique to each provider, MyMobiSafe Verified represents a new step forward that is becoming universally recognized and sought throughout the industry. There is no denying that the future of mobile will be driven by apps, but with so many MOPS (Mobile Operating System) providers depending on quality third-party apps, verification will play a major role in the app-driven future of the wireless industry.

About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com. To get started with your MyMobiSafe Verification simply email: GetVerifed@MyMobiSafe.com.

Ref:
 
Heater, B. (2009, November 17). PCMag.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from Apple's iPhone App Vetting is Here to Stay—For Now: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356027,00.asp

MyMobiSafe.com: Sticktoitiveness from Software Provider to Verification Leader

MyMobiSafe.com: Sticktoitiveness from Software Provider to Verification Leader
Author: Eric Everson

Every entrepreneur has a relationship with this word. From the bootstrapping startup to those overburdened by debt structures in this tumultuous global state of economy, we all know this word. Depending on your dictionary of choice, this word may or may not even exist, but it is one that every entrepreneur knows all too well. What is the word? Sticktoitiveness.

As a Microsoft kid, even my trusted Spelling & Grammar tool does not recognize the word, but it is one that so many of us have developed an intimate relationship with over the years. From those that are fighting to keep multigenerational businesses alive through these tough times to those launching their startup in the midst of a lackluster job market, sticktoitiveness is a quality exhibited by the most successful entrepreneurs throughout history. My experience with my venture, MyMobiSafe.com, is no different, it is only through sheer sticktoitiveness that we have weathered the storm of survival to date.

If you’ve visited my company website in the last 24 hours, you have seen that we just launched our business in a very new direction. From our humble beginnings of writing mobile security software, we have now repositioned the company as a leader in mobile verification services. From the beginning our objective has always been to protect the mobile community. Our new direction will allow us the opportunity to drive the future of mobile security forward in a new way as we are positioning MyMobiSafe Verified Services at the forefront of the app-driven mobile environment.

Today we begin working with mobile application developers around the world to position MyMobiSafe Verified as the premier mark of quality in the mobile industry. Before now, mobile app developers had no way of differentiating their apps from those plagued with masked mobile malware. Today through our innovative accreditation process, we are working together with app developers to secure the future of mobile content. This new direction is a reflection of our commitment to the success of MyMobiSafe and our dedication in driving mobile security forward. More importantly it demonstrates the sticktoitiveness of this small company in the face of the most challenging economic times that most of us have ever managed through.

According to Merriam-Webster.com, sticktoitiveness means dogged perseverance and has an etymology that dates back as far as 1876 during the industrial revolution. Sometimes, as in the case of MyMobiSafe, that means making tough decisions to shift directions when everyone else is falling down around you. As entrepreneurs, it is our sticktoitiveness that allows us to dig deeper while many others perish. Sticktoitiveness is a word that is changing the future of mobile security and may be one that will revitalize your small business too.

Eric Everson – “The MobileTech”

About the Author: Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.



Ref:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stick%20to%20itiveness

Mobile Banking: Mobile Security and the Future of Banking Profitability.

Mobile Banking: Mobile Security and the Future of Banking Profitability.

Author: Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE

Let there be no mistake about it, we as a global community have a certain lingering bitterness in our mouths for the financial sector. After all, in the end much of this global economic crisis is directly linked to poor management at some of the world’s largest banking institutions. Why then do I care about introducing an out-of-the-box model for generating new revenue structures for these very banks? As you’ll see, my strategy while delivering a proven model for future banking revenue channels is better anchored to your mobile security.

What does mobile security and banking have in common? Very little at the moment as nearly every mobile banking platform available is either a home grown mobile application (app) or has been developed via a third-party mobile software developer that is likely more concerned with its own profitability than your handset-level security. The harsh reality however is that the banking industry has essentially “given the farm away” over the past 20 years through offering so many free services that the once profitable business of banking now has some of the most razor thin profit margins in history. I’ve enjoyed a lifetime of free banking services from free checking, to free transfers, to free checks, only to witness the freefall of the banking industry.

As much as we hate to admit this from our spoiled lives of free financial services, we have backed our banking industry into a corner from which they have no choice but to reinstitute textbook models of fee-based banking. As consumers of this industry, we have to swallow that jagged pill of once again paying for services that in all honesty we were lucky to get free for so many years. As the reintroduction of fees are inevitable to the future of the banking business, it is through mobile security that I believe that every bank in the world can return value added services associated with such fees.

In 2005 me and my team launched a mobile security solution that defied the industry, MyMobiSafe. What was remarkable about our platform wasn’t just that we’d introduced a Java-based mobile security solution like no other in history, but it is that we were able to bring this technology to market for a low monthly fee of just $3.99. While everyone else in the mobile security industry was selling robust mobile security solutions with exorbitant upfront fees, we defied that market norm and made handset-level security affordable for any budget. As fate would have it, in response to the contraction in security spending felt throughout the industry, we removed MyMobiSafe software from the market after meeting our breakeven point. One thing we figured out along the way however was a shared profit model wherein a third party (i.e. the banking industry) could supply such a mobile security solution in tandem with their mobile banking apps and could introduce a new model of profitability.

Using a 60/40 model wherein the bank keeps 60% of the fee based profit per monthly subscription, everyone was satisfied. The mobile security company (that was us) made money by improving subscriber volume (even if at a discount), the bank was able to charge a mobile security fee for mobile banking customers (thus generating innovative revenue streams), and finally the consumer not only got improved mobile banking security, but also top of the line handset level security for their handset. For the consumer they might pay a monthly mobile banking security fee of $2.99-$3.99 but it gave them a full mobile security suite in addition to much more secure access to their mobile banking platform as well. It really is a model wherein everyone wins.

Though we have now focused the business model at MyMobiSafe.com to verified services for app developers and mobile security consulting, we realize that what we uncovered in the banking industry is a model that stands to redefine the future of value added fee structures throughout the banking industry. The future of banking as a profitable business model hangs in the balance; a balance which in the end must make the tough decision towards the fee-based model that so many of us have skirted for so many years.

Let our success in introducing a value added solution into this equation create a new model for the future of banking, a model based on introducing fees that touch the lives of banking consumers beyond their financial transactions. Modify the traditional model of something such as transfer fees toward a model that allows banking consumers to appreciate the value that such fees introduce. Whether your bank helps you improve your mobile security or pre-allocates a percentage of your fees toward an escrow account designed to help you mitigate your rising utility bills, there is a significant opportunity for banking to embrace the future with innovative value added profitability in mind.

-Eric Everson, MBA, MSIT-SE

Eric Everson is a leader in mobile technologies and is the founder of the U.S.-based MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with consulting related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.