Juniper Networks, AT&T Partner on Mobile Security Platform

AT&T customers will soon be able to take advantage of a mobile security platform designed to protect the data on their devices in case it ever gets lost or stolen, as well as from malware threats.

AT&T has partnered with Juniper Networks to help customers protect their mobile devices against security threats, the telecommunications company said Aug. 11. The new mobile security platform will be available for government and enterprise customers later this year, with a version for consumers expected in 2012, the company said. Pricing information was not yet available.

The AT&T Mobile Security application will be based on Junos Pulse from Juniper Networks and will provide consumers and organizations with antivirus and anti-malware software and application monitoring and control tools, according to AT&T. Businesses will also be able to use the application to maintain compliance and enforce security policies.

"Mobile security is the ‘next frontier’ for our continued effort to mitigate cyber-threats and to help protect our customers’ information," said Ed Amoroso, chief security officer of AT&T.

As users increasingly rely on their mobile devices to purchase something, take care of online banking and surf the Web, the opportunity for cyber-attacks are also increasing. Android handset users are 2.5 times more likely to be affected by malware today than they were six months ago, Lookout Mobile Security found in its new 2011 Mobile Threat report released earlier this month. The report also estimated that three out of 10 Android owners are likely to encounter a Web-based threat on their device each year.

Android is not the only platform being targeted, as there is a mobile variant of the Zeus banking Trojan that goes after BlackBerry and Windows-based smartphones as well. iPhone users are just as vulnerable to social engineering tricks that redirect them to malicious scam Web portals as other users.

Mobile malware isn’t the only threat facing users, considering that 36 percent of consumers either lost or had their phones stolen, according to a recent Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec.

Only four percent of smartphones and tablets in use are currently protected by third-party software from malware and other Web threats, according to Juniper Research.

To read the original eWeek article, click here: ATandT Partners With Juniper Networks for Mobile Security Platform