DO BUSINESS STUDENTS PRACTICE SMARTPHONE SECURITY?

Mobile phones are everywhere. According to a 2011 Pew study, 83% of American adults owned some kind of cell phone and 35% owned a smartphone [24]. Mobile technologies have the potential to transform instruction in the classroom and remotely [12]. However, along with the explosive growth of smartphones has come a rash of security problems. Previous research shows that college students lack in their personal computing security habits [26, 15, and 18]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which business students practice smart phone security. A survey of security-related practices was administered to students in business classes at a regional public university. The results of the survey show students to be lax in their smartphone security with men more willing to engage in risky behaviors than women. There were no differences in behaviors based upon maturity level or use of smartphones for financial transactions.