Telstra has this afternoon announced a new partnership with mobile security firm Lookout which will provide an Android app for protecting customer phones running Google’s open source software.
Lookout partners with Telstra for Android security (Credit: Lookout/Android Market)
The Lookout app, to be made available in the Telstra section of Google’s Android Market as part of the partnership, will offer Telstra customers with an Android handset security capabilities as well as tools including the ability to find a phone if it’s lost and backup functionality.
Telstra will begin recommending the app to customers, partnering to offer both a free and paid edition of the application to suit all customers needs.
The free Lookout application will include basic anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware protection alongside contact backup and restoration and the ability to find lost phones with the app installed.
Lookout Premium however will add a number of additional features, including dangerous website blocking, backup of photos and call history in addition to contacts, remote wipe capabilities and the ability to transfer a backup to a new phone.
“By partnering with Lookout we can provide customers with a simple application that they can download to their smartphone or tablet that helps protect them against malware-infected apps, privacy violations and data loss,” Telstra’s Director of Consumer Apps and Services, Freddie Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen said in a statement today.
Mobile security has become an increasing concern, as a wave of smartphones running various systems swamp the market.
While for now penetration of threats remains relatively low, many – including Telstra – are of the belief that in the coming years, more mobile devices will be targeted and therefore need to be protected.
“Although the chance of mobile devices being affected by a virus or malware is currently quite low, we expect cyber criminals to increasingly target these devices as they become richer sources of personal and financial data,” Freddie Jansen Van Nieuwenhuizen said today.
The move comes following Optus’ announcement of its own OfficeApps Mobile Security suite, the result of a partnership with security firm F-Secure. Compared to Telstra’s partnership, Optus’ offering costs $5 per month for protection via its application that is also Android-only for now (rival platforms by Apple and Microsoft don’t support anti-virus tools).
Sleeping with the enemy. Why would you.