Neal O’Farrell, executive director of the nonprofit Identity Theft Council, spoke about the seriousness of mobile security as part of San Francisco Small Business Week, Cult Of Mac reported. “There were more data breaches than U.S. residents last year and more cases of identity theft than just about all other crimes combined,” O’Farrell said, adding that unless users are encrypting their devices, they are essentially asking for trouble. “You’ve got to wake up [and] protect yourself, even if you use a Mac,” he said, citing the massive Flashback virus that affected more than 600,000 Mac computers. O’Farrell went on to warn that, “Eight out of ten mobile banking apps have security flaws, but Apple and the banks don’t want you to know that.” He didn’t give specifics, but did state, “I’ll wait another 20 years to stick my toe in that pond.” O’Ferrel is a security consultant who has advised organizations including Toyota, Merrill Lynch, Cost Plus World Market and the Bulgarian Government.
80% of mobile banking apps may have security flaws
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:25PM EST
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Dan joins the BGR team as the Android Editor, covering all things relating to Google’s premiere operating system. His work has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn’t testing the latest devices or apps, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.
