The Association of Savings Banks (Sparkassenverband) Baden-Württemberg has already been using the Sparkasse Computer Check for several years to protect its clients' PCs from viruses and worms. Now, in Stuttgart, the Sparkasse has recognised the need to keep up with the times and is offering a new mobile security scan, the Mobile S-Sicherheitscheck, which performs online scans on smartphones and tablet computers. "More security for iPhone & Co. is our slogan for 2013", says Herbert Honold, who is in charge of [online] security issues at the Sparkassenverband. The new Mobile S-Sicherheitscheck was developed on the basis of VISOR, a computer security product manufactured by CORONIC GmbH, the security experts from Kiel in northern Germany. The Check scans all types of mobile devices, from the iPod to the Windows Phone, looking for old software and security gaps. Contrary to most security programs, the S-Sicherheitscheck does not have to be downloaded and installed before it is ready to use. All a user has to do is go to mobil.sparkasse-computercheck.de to perform the scan immediately on his or her smartphone for free. In the upcoming months, all interested Sparkasse banks in Baden-Württemberg will be integrating this new security check on their mobile webpages. Then, all visitors to mobile Sparkasse webpages across the state of Baden-Württemberg will be able to scan their mobile devices for security problems.
"Nowadays, mobile phones have all turned into small computers" says Frank Bock, the managing director of CORONIC GmbH. "That is why they have inherited all the typical security problems of their predecessors." The new Mobile S-Sicherheitscheck takes this new reality into account and scans smartphones' operating systems and integrated mobile browsers for old software. "Just like with PCs, out-of-date software is the main access point for Trojans - which are now spreading via phones", says Bock. In order to stop this from happening, users must always ensure the latest software is installed on their smartphones.
"Nowadays, mobile phones have all turned into small computers" says Frank Bock, the managing director of CORONIC GmbH. "That is why they have inherited all the typical security problems of their predecessors." The new Mobile S-Sicherheitscheck takes this new reality into account and scans smartphones' operating systems and integrated mobile browsers for old software. "Just like with PCs, out-of-date software is the main access point for Trojans - which are now spreading via phones", says Bock. In order to stop this from happening, users must always ensure the latest software is installed on their smartphones.
