Mobile hacking sets off security gold rush

Hackers are increasingly aiming attacks at smartphones, touching off a race among software giants, start-ups and telecom operators seeking to cash in on ways to help consumers protect themselves. As the previously fragmented smartphone market coalesces around big operating systems like Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, it has become a more attractive target for hackers seeking to maximise damage with one hit.That’s creating a big business opportunity for everyone from traditional antivirus players like Intel’s McAfee to mobile operators like France Telecom and handset makers like Nokia.Market research firm Infonetics forecasts sales of mobile security software will grow 50 per cent a year through 2014 to hit $2 billion. “The mobile security market will one day be bigger than that of computers,” Neil Rimer, co-founder of Geneva-based fund Index Ventures, said at the Reuters Global Technology Summit. “It’s a no-brainer that people will pay to protect their devices, and the market will not be owned by one big player.” Rimer’s fund has invested in three-year-old start-up Lookout Mobile Security, which has racked up more than 2 million users by selling its software on Google’s Android Market and via partnerships with operators like Verizon.