McAfee Research Reveals Majority of Consumers Concerned Over Mobile Safety

MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
– McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) today announced findings from new research that
reveals that almost three out of four mobile consumers (72%) are concerned
about the security of today’s and tomorrow’s mobile services, such as
mobile multimedia downloads, mobile payments and mobile ticketing.

The McAfee Mobile Security Report 2008 discusses in detail users’
experiences of traditional and emerging mobile services and their awareness
and perceptions of mobile security issues.

Other key findings revealed the following:
— 86% of users are worried about security risks posed to their mobile
handset such as fraudulent bill increases or information loss or theft
— More that one third (34%) of global mobile users question the general
safety of mobile devices and services
— At least 79% of consumers are knowingly using unprotected devices, with
an additional 15% unsure of security levels
— More than half of subscribers (59%) expect mobile operators to take
primary responsibility for protecting mobile devices and services

Advanced Services Concerns

While confidence levels for traditional voice and messaging services
remain comparatively high, more than half of all respondents (55%)
expressed concerns about mobile payments and banking services. Likewise,
more than 40% were worried about mobile multimedia downloads and mobile
vouchers and ticketing. Frequent mobile Internet surfers showed levels of
concern 80% higher than those who have never used such services. Overall,
more than 72% of users expressed concerns regarding the safety of using
emerging mobile services, with concern rates rising with market maturity.

Reality Check: Experience of Mobile Threats

Mobile security incidents may not yet rival the scale and scope of PC
threats but they are increasing in volume and sophistication. More than one
in ten (14%) of global mobile users have already been exposed to mobile
virus incidents, either directly or they know someone who has been
infected. This awareness strongly impacts user confidence with 80% worried
about the possibility of a mobile virus infecting their friends and
colleagues.

Mobile messaging is also growing in prevalence. More than a third of
subscribers (38.6%) claim to typically receive ‘annoying’ spam messages at
least once a month. In Japan this rises to more than a quarter (26.1%)
getting spammed daily.

Security Responsibilities

Despite growing concerns, at least 79% of consumers are knowingly using
unprotected devices, with an additional 15% unsure of security levels.
Almost 60% of mobile users expect mobile operators to take primary
responsibility for protecting their mobile devices and services and more
than half (56%) believe security features should be pre-installed on the
handset at the time of purchase and provided free of charge.

“Concerns about specific mobile security risks or the loss of
credibility in the reliability of services is a crucial issue for
operators, particularly in mature markets. Yet, this research clearly
highlights that consumer fears are growing in tandem with increased mobile
functionality, jeopardizing the success of new revenue-generating services
and increased operator ARPU,” said Victor Kouznetsov, senior vice president
of McAfee Mobile Security. “Retaining consumer confidence will prove
critical in ensuring life value and listening to the end user is becoming
ever more important in creating innovative and intuitive services which
subscribers will want, and trust, to use and are prepared to pay for.”

McAfee Mobile Security Risk Management is a modular three-prong
approach to enable mobile operators designed to help operators create a
secure framework on which to build future services. The approach allows
mobile operators to understand and mitigate security risks to their
business, to protect and give peace of mind to customers, and to avoid the
negative impact on their brand and business from malicious attacks.

The research was conducted by Datamonitor amongst 2000 mobile consumers
with responses spread evenly across the US, UK and Japan.

Further statistics and findings can be found in the McAfee Mobile
Security Report 2008, available at the McAfee booth (located at avenue 75)
at the 2008 3GSM World Congress on Feb. 11-14 in Barcelona, as well as
online at http://www.mcafee.com/mobile.

About McAfee, Inc.

McAfee, Inc., the leading dedicated security technology company,
headquartered in Santa Clara, California, delivers proactive and proven
solutions and services that secure systems and networks around the world.
With its unmatched security expertise and commitment to innovation, McAfee
empowers home users, businesses, the public sector, and service providers
with the ability to block attacks, prevent disruptions, and continuously
track and improve their security. http://www.mcafee.com.

McAfee and/or other noted McAfee related products contained herein are
registered trademarks or trademarks of McAfee, Inc., and/or its affiliates
in the US and/or other countries. McAfee Red in connection with security is
distinctive of McAfee brand products. Any other non-McAfee related
products, registered and/or unregistered trademarks contained herein is
only by reference and are the sole property of their respective owners. (C)
2008 McAfee, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE McAfee, Inc.
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