The ICC's CyberCrime Unit is warning owners of mobile communication devices, such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), to be aware of the serious threat they may pose to corporate data.

A recent survey of PDA users, commissioned by Infosecurity Europe and Computer Weekly, found that one third of PDA owners leave valuable business information and corporate access details unprotected on their portable devices.

Steve Matz, of ICC's Commercial Crime Services (CCS) said: "With the growing use of mobile communication devices, it is alarming that users are not taking greater precautions to protect sensitive corporate information."

The study found that mobile communication device owners routinely use technological devices to store information relating to corporate data, bank accounts, credit cards, and both business and personal contact information, including e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

A shocking 57% of PDA owners surveyed are not encrypting any of the data held on their PDAs. Furthermore, 41% use their PDAs to access their corporate network, but 25% of them bypass the password function when they do so.

Mr Matz noted: "Not using any form of encryption, passwords, or other security methods leaves sensitive corporate and personal information wide open to theft. Part of the problem may be that once people leave the office they often forget about their corporate computer security policies and procedures. An unprotected lost or stolen PDA can leave a company extremely exposed, giving a thief or hacker open access to a wide array of critical data."

73% of those surveyed i ndicated that their company did not have a specific security policy for mobile devices. Considering that 40% of those surveyed had lost a mobile phone and 25% had lost a laptop, PDA, or both, it's clear that users and corporations must take greater precautions to protect their data.

Mr Matz added: "In order to reduce the risk of loss or theft of important corporate information, companies should be introducing security policies that account for the dramatic rise in mobile communication."

For further information, please contact Steve Matz in London: +44 208 591 3000.

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