By Leslie Clavin
From the first days of mobile devices, security has been a primary concern. Back in the day, RIM built its reputation – and early fortunes – on the back of its legendary levels of data protection. While most of the attention goes to the software solutions that detect and prevent breaches, a new survey issued today by the technology analyst firm ABI Research forecasts an increased attention to the hardware side of the security equation. The report, “Mobile Device Security,” forecasts that spending on hardware-based security for mobile devices will hit $1.9 billion by 2017. That’s up from a market estimated at just $430 million for this year.
What’s behind the increase? Growing adoption of embedded chip security measures such as ARM TrustZone (a Racepoint Group client) and other chip-level security solutions. Emerging technologies such as near field communications (aka NFC – the technology behind many touch-and-pay systems) and biometric sensors also are expected to grow, with ABI forecasting that NFC security, which was a feature in just 7 percent of smartphones in 2011, will account for half of all mobile device hardware security revenue within the next two years.
Josh Flood, the ABI analyst who spoke with many Racepoint clients in researching this report, said in a statement that the drivers for embedded chip security included consumer demands for mobile payment technology, digital rights management concerns for copyrighted content, protection of enterprise data and overall device access control.
How concerned are you about the security of your mobile device and the data it contains? As more smartphones and tablets incorporate hardware-level security, will this become more influential in consumers’ buying decisions?
A little bit about me: My smartphone runs my life – from keeping track of my work email and making sure the kids are on time for their next soccer game to managing my grocery lists and keeping tabs on current events (like the Giants game). My dream app? The AP Stylebook for Android.
