NetNames’ Haydn Simpson Talks Mobile App Security

Mobile payments seem to be inching closer to mainstream adoption on an almost daily basis.

But with the already large list of issues standing in the way of mobile payment ubiquity, it seems dealing with mobile app security may not be on the top of everyone’s to-do list.

Payment Week recently sat down with NetNames’ Product Director, Haydn Simpson, to discuss some of the issues with mobile app security, and what companies and consumers can do to protect themselves.

With ten offices in 8 different countries, NetNames monitors for copyright infringement and helps to protect both merchants and consumers from being scammed by fraudulent apps on a global level. As Simpson described it, “NetNames is a company that helps clients to be present, protected, and prosperous on the internet. That is, we are mainly involved in helping our clients to establish their brands on the internet as well as mitigating abuses of those brands.”

As far as to how copyright infringement can lead to security issues, Simpson told us “it really has to do with rogue developers using well-known brands to legitimize fraudulent content and persuade consumers to use their apps.”

Essentially, savvy criminals are tricking consumers into giving them their personal banking information by disguising their applications as name brand apps. And, according to Simpson, it doesn’t seem like the activity will be slowing down any time soon, “It is fertile ground for criminals, and they are very likely to continue to utilize fraudulent apps within the financial industry, and are incentivized to do so more than for other industries.”

A lot of the issues with mobile app security stems from the rapid rise of the app industry. While people have been very quick to use mobile apps, no one seems to realize the potential danger in downloading any new app they find. Simpson finds this to be the norm with his customers at NetNames, “In general, what we tend to see is that our clients and consumers, as a whole, tend to be less aware of the [security] issues that occur around mobile apps.”

Awareness is key for both consumers and merchants when it comes to mobile app security.

Merchants looking to keep their reputations intact need to be proactive and monitor for fraudulent versions of their apps, as well as understand how to use the mechanisms in place for removing these apps from the market quickly.

Consumers, according to Simpson, need to be a little more careful about the apps they download, “Much in the same way if someone on the street walked up to you and asked for your bank account details, you’d say ‘no,’ consumers need to make sure the apps they are using are actually legitimate.”

Simpson recommends only downloading links that come directly from the brand’s official website and generally just taking the time to research an app before downloading it.

“Everyone wants everything yesterday—if it takes more than 4 seconds to do, people tend to lose interest. But when it comes to something as important as your banking information, you’ll need to take the extra few minutes to look for legitimate applications.”