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Quote:Smartphones are poised to become the next major security challenge for businesses.

For now, a good rule of thumb for on-the-go workers is: "If you don't need to do it, don't do it," said Aaron Cohen, chief executive of The Hacker Academy, a Chicago-based firm that provides security training for companies and government agencies. Cohen warned against idly checking e-mail or opening sensitive documents on a handheld device -- unless it's absolutely necessary.

Security experts say that in general, business-oriented smartphones come from the manufacturer with decent built-in safeguards, such as encryption and firewalls.

However, consumer-oriented mobile phones, which have far fewer safety features, are increasingly taking on such PC-like characteristics as WiFi connectivity, making them attractive to people who want to use them for work...

Quote:Nickerson recalls walking through an airport carrying a suitcase that contained a device that sucked up hundreds of megabytes of contact information and other personal data through unprotected Bluetooth connections.

Nickerson has used the same machine in the offices of his corporate clients. The gadget searches for Bluetooth devices where users haven't changed the manufacturer-provided default passwords. The machine then enters the default password and accesses information through the now-open Bluetooth connection.