User Survey on Phone Security and Usage

Mobile phones are widely used nowadays and during the last years developed from simple phones to small computers with an increasing number of features. These result in a wide variety of data stored on the devices which could be a high security risk in case of unauthorized access. A comprehensive user survey was conducted to get information about what data is really stored on the mobile devices, how it is currently protected and if biometric authentication methods could improve the current state. This paper states the results from about 550 users of mobile devices. The analysis revealed a very low securtiy level of the devices. This is partly due to a low security awareness of their owners and partly due to the low acceptance of the offered authentication method based on PIN. Further results like the experiences with mobile thefts and the willingness to use biometric authentication methods as alternative to PIN authentication are also stated.