The company's parent/child online safety campaign, in the form of Safekids (www.safekids.co.za) has received numerous calls from concerned parents and guardians about cellphone usage and how best to supervise the situation.
"Many parents have enquired as to how to control their children's use of the cellphone. The reality is that a cellphone can be used in emergency and parents want to provide their children with this tool in the event they need to be contacted urgently. Unfortunately, as with any technology, including the Internet, these devices are open to abuse," explains Annette Carrick, chairperson of the Safekids initiative.
The company is using Safekids to generate further awareness in the market around the need to keep safe.
Van Staden points to the recent spate of incidents at school that are being recorded by pupils on their cellphones, many of whom have the intention of exploiting any commercial value the footage may have.
He also points to reports of unscrupulous service providers that hook unsuspecting youngsters into cellphone-service related contracts and cyber criminals that source personal data via unauthorised access to mobile phones.
In many instances, access is gained from users replying to SMS or MMS and other forms of direct mobile communication. The market has been quick to take advantage of this surge in mobile phone interaction and there are now established companies offering related services including MXit, an instant messaging exchange program for cellphones.
This particular service allows users to send and receive text messages to and from phones and PCs connected to the Internet.
"The cellphone is essentially a machine or computer in its own right and, in most cases, has minimal security. Generally speaking, users tend to ignore or forget about the fact that they are engaging with the public. The security factor is significant, given the rate at which new features are being converged into cellphone and the extent to which users download, use and swap material. This trend continues to sweep across the mobile phone frontier and makes purchasing mobile product very appealing," adds Van Staden.
"It is interesting to note that the cell phone has really become the definitive digital lifestyle technology piece. People use the mobile phone to take photographs, to email, fax and listen to music, watch video clips and surf the Web. This level of digital interaction may be very popular and innocent in most cases, but the problem comes in with unsupervised or unregulated use. Aside from the cost factor, there is a very real security threat to having unchecked mobile connectivity," Van Staden continues.
Recent media reports have highlighted the disturbing ease with which so-called 'loan sharks' are targeting the youth market with 'amazing' airtime deals.
Although Carrick's core business focus is IT security and comprehensive service provision, the company has a vested interest in helping to instil higher levels of security across all IT infrastructure.
"The mobile and wireless market is expanding at a rapid rate. The mobile phone is a critical tool for the mobile professional and serves as an immediate connection to a company and its database. Our role is to ensure the user is protected against external threats and this principle applies just as much to the mobile phone user as it does to the individual sitting behind a desktop," concludes Van Staden.
