Some 190,000 mobile phones are left in the back of London taxis every year, according to a survey of London taxi drivers by an internet security product firm. ESET says it’s highlighting the need for businesses and individuals to back-up, encrypt and password protect their devices in the event of it falling into the wrong hands, and the data being stolen, compromised or abused.
There are around 24,000 black cabs in London and the study found that a taxi driver finds an average of eight mobile phones in the back of their cab every year; this ultimately means the surveyors suggest that Londoners lose 520 mobile phones in taxis every day and 190,000 a year. Half of the devices found in taxis are completely unlocked, meaning anyone who finds the phone is able to gain access to the information it holds.
Mark James, security specialist at ESET, said: “Today we use our mobiles for a multitude of tasks, whether it’s our online banking or connecting to corporate email systems, and we do not want our devices to fall into the wrong hands. Our study shows that despite the huge publicity cybercrime receives in the media today consumers still do not see themselves as a real target. This is naïve and wrong. Cybercriminals are well aware of the fact that our mobiles contain connections to corporate networks and sensitive information and they will take advantage of this. Consumers should as an absolute minimum use a password to protect their device in case it is ever lost, however a good security posture would include encryption and a remote wipe facility.”
Cabbies were asked about the most unusual things they had found in the back of their cab, some of the most items included:
The chief of NATO’s briefcase
An inflatable banana
A dog
400 packets of jelly
£100,000 worth of Stocks and Bonds
For one rather unfortunate taxi driver – a pair of false teeth
When taxi drivers were asked what they did with any phones they found in the back of their cabs 61 percent said they waited for the owner to call, 25 percent said they handed it into the police and 14 percent said they contacted the owner. Other findings:
68 percent taxi drivers would not have a snoop around the phone if they found it unlocked
99 percent of taxi drivers revealed they could not unlock the device if they found it locked
24 percent of taxi drivers said that despite them not being able to open an unlocked phone, they were confident their kids / nephews would be able to.
James added: “While our study has proven just how honest taxi drivers are, sadly not everyone who finds a phone will take the same approach. I imagine the majority of people who find a phone will actually have a look around and see if there is anything of any interest or value to be found. What people need to start asking themselves is – could any of the data held on my mobile compromise me either personally or professionally if it fell into the wrong hands? If the answer is yes, which I expect it will be, then security on your mobile device must be a priority, not an afterthought.”
