New technology ’set to improve mobile phone security’

Mobile phone users could soon be protected by three new design innovations which aim to tackle the issue of handset theft.

The Mobile Phone Security Challenge – run by the Home Office Design and Technology Alliance with the Design Council – has come up with the trio of devices to make it more difficult for mobiles to be taken.

Home Office minister Alan Campbell said: "I believe the solutions developed by this challenge have the potential to be as successful as previous innovations like Chip and Pin."

First up is the i-migo – a small item which can be carried around and sounds an alarm should a handset leave a set range.

Whether through theft or loss, if an owner moves too far from their device they will be instantly made aware.

The i-migo also offers a backup system of all important data stored on a mobile through a Bluetooth chip.

Secondly, the designers have come up with a ‘tie solution’ – where a handset and SIM card are tagged together and cannot be used without the other.

This could help to drive down the potential for thieves to take a mobile phone and use it with their own SIM.

Finally, the Home Office project created the TouchSafe device, aimed at users who wish to use their mobile phone to make payments, in much the same way as the Oyster Card.

Joe McGeehan, a member of the alliance, asserted: "With the rapid growth in mobile phone usage, and particularly the smart phone, more and more people are carrying sensitive information on their handsets thereby increasing their vulnerability to identity theft

Last year security experts Credant Technologies warned UK mobile users that they were complacent about phone safety and stored too much sensitive data on their handsets.