Doug Gale recently contributed a word of warning concerning the usage of smartphones in higher education to Campus Technology. Gale suggests that while many universities have educated faculty and staff to the dangers of traveling with a laptop containing sensitive information—e.g., Social Security numbers or a faculty member’s latest patentable research, not much discussion has taken place concerning the security risks of smart phones. He asserts that we need to teach users be as skeptical of e-mail attachments, unexpected connections, and update confirmations on their smart phones as they are on their computers. Some precautions he recommends include:

• Enable any password protection features that the phone provides. Smart phones are small and easily lost. Using a password gives the owner some protection from call charges and the lose of sensitive data.

• Enable any data encryption features that the phone provides. If the device does not include data encryption options, consider add-on packages, such as Pointsec Mobile. Some users may want to consider PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) schemes such as PGP Mobile.

• If you lose a smart phone call the provider immediately to avoid call charges, record information about the call and get confirmation in writing that your phone has been disabled. File a police report. It probably won’t help getting the phone back but it provides an official record.

• Smart phones get viruses too. Vendors such as Kaspersky are now marketing anti-virus software for Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms.

For more, be sure to check out Gale’s full article at Campus Technology.