Neil Wu Becker

Listen to "Neil Wu Becker From A10" on Spreaker. The ‘rise of apps’ in our lives has evolved to the point they now seem part of our DNA – call it “digital DNA” – and many believe it is impossible and physically uncomfortable to live without them. For some, apps have become our “digital oxygen,” on par with eating, drinking and breathing. Even though apps are a huge part of our lives, it’s easy to be careless with how we use them. When people are more concerned about how an app looks or performs rather than thinking about security, our lack of diligence can cause more problems than we think. This is a key issue spotlighted by a global study from A10 Networks, which examines our attitudes, behavior, and experiences involving apps in our lives and their impact on our personal security. Some of the findings are pretty eye-opening, such as: Half of all global respondents consider apps to be as or almost as important as breathing, eating and drinking. In an emergency, if given the choice of only taking one item, more people would grab their smartphone over a safe with important documents, photo albums, or computer. More respondents would rather leave their house unlocked for a whole day than leave their phone unlocked and unattended on a park bench for just one hour. If forced to choose, people would rather have access to apps than access to sunlight in a 24-hour period. In a test of human sensitivity over physical vs. digital vulnerability, twice as many respondents would rather lose their pants in public than their mobile phone carrying key apps. Although many people consider security risks when downloading an unknown app, they take the risk and exhibit less security diligence the longer they use it. Many lack confidence in app developers’ expertise and prioritization of security in building safe apps. Nearly one in five in their 20s have had their identity stolen. Almost one in three been hacked. Apps have certainly become an integral part of daily life. Just how important are apps to you? Technology Expert, Neil Wu Becker is available to discuss: Are apps a basic human necessity? Are apps essentially “digital oxygen?” And are they as important to some as real oxygen? As we embrace more apps, how does our apathy and behavior involving app usage impact our security individually as well as the security of our friends, families, and employers? Is the new digital or online rite of passage getting hacked or one’s identity stolen? Is getting compromised the new ‘digital life crisis’?